As I was relaxing on the towel, Leila was having fun playing by herself. She was digging holes in the sand, picking up seashells, throwing wet sand in the water, splashing in the shallow water, and running around enjoying her surroundings.
About thirty minutes in, I noticed a young boy around Leila's age throwing shells and sand into the water. His mother immediately called out his name from her towel, jumped up after him, and reprimanded him for throwing things in the bay. Seconds later she was yelling at him, "No splashing!" She chased him around for a while telling him not to do just about everything he was doing.
Honestly, I didn't know how to feel. For a second I felt embarrassed that I was allowing Leila to throw wet sand into the bay (that happens to be full of wet sand) and I wondered if I should ask her to stop splashing around in the water.
Then I chuckled to myself...
Here I was enjoying a relaxing day at the beach, allowing Leila to do what kids do at the beach- have fun! And here was this other mom all frazzled chasing her son around telling him no.
Clearly Leila and I were having more fun! Isn't that what beach days are all about?
Dear Leila, for the record, YES you can throw sand (or seashells) into the water. YES you can splash in the bay. YES you can be a toddler!
