Life's a beach

We've been spending a lot of time at my parent's house this week, they are in a weird downward spiral health and wellness-wise, which we are trying to correct. Although it has been a stressful week, we've made it to the beach twice and hope to do so again today.

The water is a cool 60-ish degrees. Not freezing on the feet, but certainly not welcoming to adults. My three and their two cousins were not put off by the cold and ran right in. They warmed up by rolling in the sand afterwards and then went back for more. Unfortunately, all this in and out of the water, coupled with quiet reflection, worrying and crying on my part, led to some mild sunburn. A serious failure to re-apply the sunscreen. Medium, the amphibian of the group, was the hardest hit. We may have to wear pants today.

The beach is a nice respite from the tensions in the house on top of the dune. Getting old is not for the weak, degenerative diseases are truly for the brave. Both parents are declining, but in different ways. While my brother-in-law, the ER doc, has been able to restore basic life functioning to my father, the future is bleak. It's a strange balance of youthful living and slow dying. I need to get better at handling it.