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Thursday, September 2, 2010

Sand, Surf & SHARKS


Growing up in East Texas, one of our favorite day/weekend trips to make was to head down to Crystal Beach and spend the day in the surf. We spent LOTS of time playing in the water, making sandcastles, hunting for sea shells, and having fun.

Let's be honest though, the coastal areas of Galveston and Crystal Beach aren't exactly known for having pristinely clear water. So as you walk farther and into the water, you start to see less and less of your feet, ankles, etc. Playing in the surf was wonderful, though! We could run, play, scream, dig, wallow in sand, and just be kids.

There were the occasional hazards of playing on the beach, of course. Stepping on shell fragments were particularly painful. We had to pay attention and make sure that we didn't step on any broken glass or bits of plastic...some people just don't understand the importance of cleaning up after themselves. Idiots. There were little fish that would nibble on your legs. Seaweed wasn't as much a hazard as it was annoying to have that prickly nastiness wrap itself around your leg...eeewww!!

And then there was the day that everything changed... (music from the Twilight Zone playing in the background)

I had seen advertisements on TV for the movie Jaws, and was horrified at the idea of such a LARGE human-eating-ocean-dweller that could quite possibly be lurking out there, waiting to gobble me up like a Scooby snack. There were also the countless episodes of National Geographic that our family loved to watch that depicted different fish of countless varieties...pretty fish, ugly fish, fish with whiskers, fish that jumped out of the water, and fish that BITE PEOPLE. Ack!

We had been at the beach for a while that day and were having a sandy blast! The kids were all digging around trying to find really awesome shells in knee-deep water. Murky water. There were shovels and buckets. When one of us would find something we would show it to the others, and the search would continue. As I am bent over, digging blindly in the obscure water *SNAP!* I got bit! Probably just a hermit crab, but I was scared to death and it hurt!

To this day I have a paralyzing fear of being in ocean, lake, or river water that isn't COMPLETELY crystal clear. It scares me to death. When we are boating, I won't jump into water that is less than 15ish feet deep for fear that I will get to close to the bottom or touch something. If the water is only that deep, I will back into the water with a float.

No rowdy water fun for this girl....unless we're in a CHLORINATED POOL! It gives me the heebie-jeebies just thinking about lake water!!! *shivers*


Mama's Losin' It


Prompt #1 - Childhood fears that you've taken into your adult life

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9 comments:

Melva said...

LOL Cute Post..I'm with you on that one. I'm from Texas too and there is something freaky about not seeing the bottom. It's kind of exciting and scary!!! Thanks for sharing - :)

Anonymous said...

I am the SAME way! I lived in Florida for a few years and HATED going in the ocean for fear of whaever lurked below! lol

Jennifer said...

I didn't mind the beach that much, but I hated when we went to the lake. It had a muddy bottom and lots of plants. Eww. We swam in Village Creek a lot too and it didn't bother me because it had a sandy bottom. With all that said, now that I'm a grown up, I only like chlorinated water. I don't like creek/beach/lake/pond water.

BusyMom said...

Oh Crap! You had to mention POOL. I have spent the last 7 days working 9 hour days with 3 8 hur nights thrown in just to screw me up totally... while my pool is at home with crystal clear, warm and wonderful water... on these 90+ degree sunny days... with no one there to enjoy it.
And when I finally have a few weeks off... starting Sunday. That's when the hurricane will hit and it will be too cold, too windy, too FALL-ish to swim...
Thanks for reminding me.
And great post by the way... I always wear shoes on my feet in the ocean or river... Things move under there!

What I Did Today said...

I'm sorry. I'm afraid of water too. Though it's because I'm afraid of drowning. The childhood fear I have still is that of looking out a window at night. When I was still an infant I dreamt that a scary face was staring at me through the window in my nursery. I cried and cried. I'm still not good about dark windows because I REALLY don't want to see a face looking back at me!

Sandra said...

I've never been bit by anything in the water, I just won't go in! At least you have a reason. What a good Mama Kat prompt, it's made me realize that I have way to many childhood fears that I've brought into adulthood...I could have an entire blog just about my fears!

Lindsay said...

Visting back :)

I'm in FL, so I hear ya. Especially since my husband has been nibbled upon by a nurse AND a baby blue shark. Now that I have a little one, I am nervous just thinking about him surfing in a few years!

M.Jay. said...

Oh my, its like we are twins..lol
I have that exact same fear. I am terrified of murky water and will not for the life of me set foot into it. My fam thinks I am nuts but what if I touch the bottom and something, anything happens!!! I am so bad I will not even swim in a pool with a Kreepy Krauly pool cleaner in it, in fear that it might suck me in... no jokes...

Eliz Frank said...

Oh dear Lesley, that is scary and I must confess... a tad funny!!! I didn't add the creeps in the ocean because I wanted my list to end as the clock ticked away but yup, I can relate. I dont like them either...
Elizabeth