Charm Citizen

Sleepover – The girls had a vacation sleepover at their cousin’s place in Rehobeth Beach last night. If felt very strange for John and I to leave them overnight but they were as happy as can be. It’s an annual tradition that was paused for a few years because of the pandemic. We helped get them ready for bed and then drove the 40 minutes back to Ocean City and then woke up early and drove back to get them ready for the beach. We brought Dunkin Donuts over in the morning because we know how hard it is to feed everyone and make them happy when they first woke up.

Spanish – I got into a small fight today with my husband for never teaching our kids Spanish. He grew up speaking Spanish at home and continues to speak Spanish with his sisters and mom. I don’t speak Spanish but have taken courses in high school and college. I’ve also picked up phrases from spending so much time with John. At times, I’ve tried to learn more by watching Spanish programming and subscribing to Babbel but I haven’t been able to stay consistent or become proficient. That said, I don’t necessarily feel like I should have to put pressure on myself to learn a second language when I’m also doing a million other things in my many roles. It just makes me sad that my husband’s sisters always spoke Spanish to their kids and they understand the language while our kids don’t. I’ve paid for them to join Spanish club at their school and employed Spanish speaking nannies when they were smaller but it didn’t result in them learning fluent Spanish. Instead, they know a lot of vocabulary. I think I have a chip on my shoulder about the topic because I never learned to speak Italian even though my dad speaks fluently. I guess I am projecting my own feelings of inadequacy into this situation. There have been countless times people have told me it’s a shame I don’t speak Italian or have a strong connection to my Italian heritage compared to my cousins. This is turning into a venting post but it upsets me a little when I see a missed opportunity for the kids.

Beach Towels and Identity – Tell me if this story is absurd or speaks to your urge for belonging and community. In our back and forth travels associated with the kids Rehobeth Beach sleepover, we forgot to pack our beach towels for our beach day with our cousins. In a pinch, I sent John to Marshall’s to pick up some new ones. It had been some time since we had new beach towels so I was sort of excited to add some fresh linens to our summer supplies. I’m an effort to divide our manpower, John and I split up. I stayed with the girls to get them beach ready and fed and he ran to the store. He said that Marshall’s was wiped out of beach towels so he went to the nearby WalMart. It was a strategic move to avoid the tourist trap beach shops but John didn’t quite execute properly once he got to WalMart. He bought 5 towels that said Rehobeth Beach. That may not seem like a big deal, but we are not Rehobeth Beach people. We are Ocean City, MD people. Sure, we visit and spend a day or two in Rehobeth each year but our bread and butter in in OC. John seemed annoyed that I had a problem with his his selection but his sister Jeannette agreed. The choice did not ring true with our identity. It would be like us buying New York Yankees hats or Michigan State sweatshirts instead of O’s and Ravens. Okay. Maybe not that bad. I do like beach hopping and visiting Rehobeth but I’m not sure I’m ready to be a walking advertisement for the beach town.

Delaware Beaches – We spent the day at Tower beach, which is a Delaware State Park, and Bethany Beach. Since John’s sister stays in Rehobeth and we stay in Ocean City so we always look for places to meet in the middle. Tower Beach is a Delaware State Park between Dewey Beach and Bethany Beach. There is a $10 daily entrance fee for out of state vehicles ($5.00 for DE residents) and plenty of parking. The beach has a bathhouse and concession stand and small boardwalk. Today the beach was “unguarded” but I believe I recall there being lifeguards there in the past. The lack of major crowds on the beach like you find in Rehobeth or Bethany or Cape Henlopen State Park is a major plus. Unfortunately the last two years we’ve had some unfortunate encounters with jelly fish and sea lice which has resulted in lots of tears and the use of our first aid kit. I hope it’s just a coincidence because I really like going there.

Bethany Beach – We stopped in Bethany Beach on the way home for ice cream and ended up leaving very happy with the vegan options we found. Jeannette recalled a place she visited about 10 years prior for ice cream, called Maureen’s Ice Cream, so we looked it up and went back. I hadn’t been to Bethany Beach in years. We used to stop in when I was kid to walk around and I think John and I went when we were dating. Maureen’s was awesome! The kids loved their ice cream, which sounds like a no brainer but they can something be picky, and John and I also both got to enjoy our favorite flavors vegan-style. It was probably the best non-dairy ice cream I had in 2 years since going vegan in 2020. To top it off, we stumbled upon a little restaurant called Lili’s Place that had vegan empanadas! We were initially intrigued by the Colombian options on the menu but had to try the three vegan empanadas on the menu. They also had pizzas but we didn’t try one. They were excellent! John ordered vegan chicken, beef, and chorizo. I like how they wrote a letter to symbolize the type of empanada in the shell. I wonder what type of marker they used? They came with yummy encurtido salsa to add to the flavor.