Preparations

Sweet Daughter and I are renting a beach house on Chincoteague thanks to a rather generous Christmas gift and we’ve spent the past 8 months preparing. I asked SD what was important to her … she said “Just a place to sleep. We’ll be busy doing other things!” I wanted a screened porch where I could sit and read with a drink in hand after a day at the beach. Oh, and at least two toilets. Because two is one, and one is none, and all that.

 

The next step was prioritizing what we needed to acquire. Another umbrella, so we didn’t have to both squeeze under the shade of one, a SD- sized shovel for digging moats that wasn’t too heavy, and a set of buckets sturdy enough to haul seawater without the handles falling off, but not so big that SD couldn’t carry them herself. We also watched the sales and picked up things like a small cooler on wheels so SD could help haul things from the car. I got a better chair that I can get out of easier, and will hopefully be easier on my back. SD got my hand-me-down chair. We’ve been squirreling away things like an extra box of mac & cheese, pasta sauce, and making cookies to freeze for the trip. We’ve put a jar out to collect discretionary funds for dinner out one night. SD has been hoarding her allowance to spend on … stuff. She’s a very thorough. We spend several days shopping, and then at the end of our trip she makes a list of what she wants, what it costs and how best to spend her hoard.

 

It’s been a good exercise in planning and prioritizing. And like all good plans, it won’t survive first contact with the enemy. We leave bright and early tomorrow morning – keep your fingers crossed for us. And hope that tropical disturbance near Hispaniola doesn’t get stronger and come a-calling.