Yesterday, I made a plan to go to the beach with alone my daughter the following morning. I excitedly told my entire family about this plan. In the moment, I couldn’t wait to lay out in the sun and play in the sand with my young toddler. I reiterated all the fun my child and I would have during our solo beach day, and exclaimed how easy it would be to take her to the shore all by myself (in case you can’t already tell by my naïve sense of optimism– no, prior to this moment, I had never taken my child to the beach alone). I was clearly being overly aspirational and was motivated by lots of caffeine and the long nap I had taken earlier that afternoon.

When I woke up at 6:45am the next morning, still groggy from minimal sleep, I listed every excuse imaginable to not follow through with my beach day plan. I told myself my daughter was tired, I was tired, she was cranky, we had to go grocery shopping, my husband did not have the day off from work, the laundry had to get done, etc. Some of those excuses may have had a hint of truth to them (ie – my laundry is still sitting in a pile in the hallway as I write this), but that did not mean our trip needed to be cancelled. If I am being honest, I used to make excuses a lot in an effort to make day-to-day mom life easier.

As a first-time mom, it’s easy to get swept up in the unfamiliarity and anxiety associated with long distance family day trips. During my daughters first year of life, I found it exhausting to take her anywhere outside of a five-mile radius from our home. When my daughter turned one, I made a promise to myself that I would start being more adventurous with our weekday time together. I am primarily a stay-at-home mom, so I wanted to incorporate more weekday activities further away from our home.

This beach trip was a perfect way for me to start testing my ability to take my child further distances from home without the physical support of my husband. Here’s how a day in the sun impacted me as a mom:

1) Going to the beach alone with my toddler helped me feel more confident:

After dressing my daughter, organizing our beach gear, preparing our snacks, packing our car, driving over one-hour the shore, walking 10-minutes from the car to the sand, and spending 5 minutes preparing our beach spot, I felt proud of how much I had accomplished to make this beach day happen. Once my kid and I were settled in the sand, I relaxed in the thought that I made this day possible for my daughter. Despite the anxiety and logistical challenges that came with getting there, I still made sure my toddler enjoyed her time in the sun. That brought me lots of confidence and made smaller excursions as a mom feel more bearable.

2) My toddler and I bonded through a common interest:

Like most American moms, I tend to schedule my days as a stay-at-home mom around my daughter’s needs and interests. Most of our time spent together is filled with story times, music classes, and park trips. While I do enjoy watching my child play in a structured kid-friendly environment, it was eye-opening to spend quality time together at a neutral location we both enjoyed. We smiled as our feet splashed against the waves, and laughed when the seagulls flew past attempting to grab leftover food from our blanket. It felt like the entire day was an inside joke only the two of us could understand. It felt special, private even. I relished in this newfound bond between us.

3) I re-lived a positive childhood experience through my daughter's eyes:

Turns out, my daughter REALLY loves the beach. She laughed uncontrollably when she realized the waves hit her feet and played in the sand for almost 45 minutes! On the drive home, she excitedly shouted “beach” more times than I can count. Seeing her experience something as fun and simplistic as a beach day for the first time made me realize how special these small moments are to my child. As adults we often take for granted little luxuries in life, like moments spent by the ocean. Having my child there to remind me how beautiful life is made me even more grateful for our time together.

While I would absolutely not describe a solo beach day with my toddler as relaxing, I definitely found it worthwhile. I will absolutely be adding more beach trips to my family's weekly schedule, only the next time, I will be a little less fearful beforehand.

Sincerely,

Gabrielle B., CYT-200

Owner + Founder of Serene Moms, LLC.