Salt.

Sometimes you just need to step back, take a minute and reset. After a busy and trying few weeks we decided to take a day. I told Chris it was a "mental health" day. We had E's 9 month check up and then decided to head down to Folly. It was necessary. We needed to not be running in a million different directions. To not be tackling to-do lists, or excel spreadsheets, or whatever other equally fun things have seemed to be taking us over the past couple of weeks. I believe as important as the tangible numbers, work schedules, and obligations that make a family function, even more important are the intangibles. These things that make you tick. That allow us to step back and look at how blessed we are. The things that aren't so calculated and often times therefore deemed less important. We had put in the tears and the sweat, yesterday it was time for the sea.

This was E's first trip since she was 10 weeks old. She loved every minute. I am not a mushy person. At all. But I fought back tears watching her experience the sand and water for the first time. Each tiny shell was observed. Each wave anticipated with a loud squeal. She could not get enough. You could tell the freedom she felt. She could roam without being told "no" to the outlets, sharp objects, and cords that she normally has to navigate around. Maybe that's why the beach is still so therapeutic as an adult. It reminds you how small you are. And sometimes, most times, that's just what you need.