A little stream of consciousness about a fun and crazy day in this exact moment of parenting. It all changes so fast. One day we will be showering in different bathrooms and everyone will bathe themselves and I will miss this …

Today, we went out on the boat. We woke up early (as per usual), I navigated my way to the kitchen, dodging half built forts and toy cars. The dishwasher didn’t get started lastnight and the kitchen was only half clean. I fried up some eggs, threw in some cheese, walked Fleet through making a smoothie while fielding cries, requests and little hands on my legs.

I scrambled through lunch prep, sunscreen application and folding towels. I threw it all in the beach bag while Luke prepped the boat. Surfboards, boogie boards, paddle boards, tubes, tents, coolers and beach chairs all on board. I got the boys to clean up at least one fort, wrangled everyone into the car and we were off.

. . . to the grocery store for more food and ice.

All on board and then overboard onto the tube to ride out to Morris Island. Then onto the beach for a day of swimming, paddle boarding and exploring. Luke and the kids threw the cast net and found blue crabs, hermit crabs, shrimp and even a couple of tiny flounder, you know, those fish that live on the ocean floor with both eyes on the same side of their head. They threw their finds in a bucket and marveled over them. Fleet loves picking up these creatures, just like his dad.

Luke built a platform with rope and a surfboard and they jumped off the back of the boat exactly 5,578 times. Cannonballs and jack knife’s on repeat. Elle and Charlie Mac swam and played with toys and ate.

It was incredible. Until it wasn’t. Right after Luke asked me how long I wanted to stay, the meltdowns began. So, we loaded up, a little sandier and saltier and cruised back to the landing. Lil Luke drove us home. Charlie Mac fell right to sleep in his car seat with a paci in his mouth. Elle made a pallet to rest on and pretended to sleep. The bigger kids ate the rest of the food. Chips, cucumbers, humus, watermelon, goldfish.

Back at the landing, we piled them all into the car and enjoyed 10 minutes of quiet while they all slept for the short drive home. Exhausted.

But boat days aren’t over when you get off the boat.

Home for showers. Me in the shower, bathing Elle then Charlie Mac. Luke outside the door, handing me babies and then drying them and getting them dressed. The big boys bathing themselves. Oddly enough we are all in the same bathroom, our tiny “master.” I think to myself what a truly special time this is. Everyone shuffling in and out of this one tiny bathroom, in this unusual routine post beach day. Bathing suits and wet towels on the ground, sand outside the bathroom door, steam seeping out into the bedroom, slippery, wet, tiny naked bodies, all over the place. All over the place. It’s both chaos and harmony. It’s all the beautiful and all the hard of parenting, right here in this exact moment. When you’re worn slap out from a fun day and you want to rest but there is too much to do still. Mouths to be fed, messes to be cleaned, bodies to be washed. So, you just do it all together. And it’s better that way.