  This weekend my parents parked their giant behemoth RV at the Galveston Island State Park. It's not exactly camping, but we joined them for whatever it was. We were offered the perfect illustration for how opposite my children are. Ellie had little interest in the sand, instead begging to go to the water. As waves approached her, she giggled in delight. She loved the tumultuous splashing all around her. Aidan, on the other hand, built every object he could conceive in the sand from birthday cakes to castles. His interest in the water receded quickly when he realized he would actually get wet on the boogie board. The rapidly approaching foamy mini-waves caused him to panic and run toward dry sand. It was a nice cap to my folks' visit. They seemed very much in their element on the beach. John and I had fun playing board games with them after putting the kids to bed. I especially enjoyed walking with my mom on the beach after dark, only to later discover we were walking through a sandcrab jubilee! John cleverly created a delicious grilled chicken marinade with the scanty trailer ingredients of soy, lime, and brown sugar (he said he really needed ginger) and Aidan and Ellie alike discovered the childhood magic that is corn on the cob.
In general, our family sticks to land activities over water ones. I could do without the sand in my hair, the sticky salt water legs, the residue industrial pollution in my liver... Give me a mountain over a beach any day! But as my parents explore this new stage of their lives, newly loosed from the boundaries of my dad's job on the railroad, we're getting better at accommodating their needs alongside ours. You never stop growing! 
