Do the kids in your area go away to the beach for a week after graduating?

The kids here go to Palm Beach or San Diego or somewhere like that from what I'm told. When I gaduated we went to Miller Beach in the Indiana dunes. Some of the kids parents had summer homes there so it was a blast....

Did anyone see the NBC piece this morning? (I think it was NBC...) It was about Cancun beach vacations and the dangers for girls with rapes and kidnaps. Of course they mentioned the Natalie Holloway case that is still unsolved (I feel soooo bad for the family), and also had teenage girls that survived rape while on their high school graduation vacation with friends. Is it me, am I just over protective, or has the world changed since my girls went to high school about 15 years ago? I would NEVER,EVER have let my girls go at that age with friends. None of their friends ever wanted to go either. And we live in NY. I know today is different and kids seem to be doing much more than back then, but a parent is still a parent. I simply would put my foot down and say NO! If there is any respect in the home, they would not insist on going. I feel they are still not mature enough to handle such situations. What has happened to this world?

PamR, YES things have changed and not for the better either. Years ago rape and kidnapping were not the norm, while now they are. People seem almost numb to the dangers. I would ever allow my kids to go anywhere now, especially out of the USA. Its dangerous enough right here let alone on foreign soil.

Dotise, with 2 young ones just graduating, what is happening in your house regarding beach week?

I ahve a girlfriend who's daughter is simply great, She will be senior in college this fall. When she went to the beach after high school they had a drinking houe and a non-drinking house. I ddin't believe it then and don't now. Her Mom isnot naive but I don't think she wanted to know.

How do you feel about it?
Lynn

Lynn, thanks for asking.

My son is already at the beach. He and four of his friends are renting a house for a week. They are at a beach town which he is very familiar with because we frequented it with our kids as we raised them.

We decided to let him go because in a few short months he will be away at college. He and his friends have pretty good heads on their shoulders so I believe they will have a grand time and stay out of trouble. I believe it's a great opportunity for him to show us how responsible he is. I hope I'm right. I heard from him today and he said that one of the kids from his high school was arrested for being drunk in public and resisting arrest. So many of the stores we hear about and see on TV are true, sad, but true. I continue to cover him in prayer.

My daughter graduated today. Yahoo. This has been an incredibly busy week, and fun. She chose not to go. She really had no desire to do so for which I am MOST grateful.

Pam, we have been fairly strict parents. Probably very strict, but we have tried loosening the apron strings bit by bit. We speak with our kids about everything and always have. We've talked until we're blue in the face. We are very close to them and try to treat them as the individuals they are. I only pray our words have sunk in. For the most part, our kids have made good decisions. We have experienced a few bad ones along the way and only hope they have lived and learned.

Good response Dotsie, I hope I am in the same place when my son is graduating.

Lynn

Thats all we can do, our best and hope it sinks in. I probably wasn't as strict (my parents weren't) but we had one daughter that even the counselors said we had to really pick our battles or she would just up and leave. And the other totally hooked up with church kids and didn't need it. Always home on time, etc...Good news is the little trouble maker does triathlons now, doesn't drink, home early...Proof prayer and diligence works. They do have to make their own choices. Sometimes better to let them make a few mistakes in the safe haven of the home.

I hope all the Beach kids are home safe and sound! I know it is hard to let go, and I think I was a bit too stict, but you are right Dotsie, there comes a time when we have to trust that they have listened and learned. We just love them so much that sometimes the fear of them getting hurt prevents us from letting them grow and stand on their own feet. Believe me, I still worry every day even though they are out of the house. And now, I have my little precious baby granddaughter to worry about too! I have to learn to enjoy them all and let God keep them safe.

I was thinking when I saw this post how wonderful it would be to be lounging on a quiet stretch of beach with the waves crashing and that sweet ocean air smell, love that smell. On a blanket with my laptop writing to you all and just listening to the sounds around me and watching the sandpipers scurring about. Now thats a dream I really need about now instead of this dreadful heat wave we're having...

A friend of mine just returned from a trip to the beach with her significant other. She said while standing in "ankle-deep" water and relaxing, she noticed a man running toward her, waving his arms frantically. Yep...shark. The shark went right by her legs about a foot away from her. It then went towards two women who were further out but who had their backs to them and couldn't see my friend screaming to them to watch out! THANKFULLY...the women saw everyone come running out toward them and caught on....they froze. The shark went on by them. THIS IS WHY I DON'T GO IN THE OCEAN. OMG...This story gives me the heebie jeebies just relating it to ya'll.

Give me a pool with a bottom in it...any day.

JJ

You'll notice that I said, SITTING ON THE SAND. I wouldn't be caught dead (shark) in the ocean...I saw JAWS and yes i took it very seriously....

speaking of sharks....me and hubby were at Gulf Shores last month while he was on furlough, managed a 3 day escape. We were in water about waist high, and a sand shark swam betwixt us. I was totally freaked and just started backing away to shore and trying to get him to come along, saying in a pipsqueak voice "shark, shark...." hoping he'd hear. I didn't want to scare the others swimming nearby too much, thrashing around and all is not good....Needless to say, I was very cautious from then out. We love Gulf Shores because it is such a placid place but the rearrangement of the sandbars from the hurricanes must have made it much more shark-prone. Jaws aside, it is scary, but after all, we are guests in THEIR home. I have a sister in NJ that will never get in the ocean...she's seen all the Jaws movies wayyyy too many times!

judym, occasionally, my husband and the kids have surf fished when at the beach. They'd do it early morning, or late night. Anyway, they've often caught sand sharks. Just the little ones. But I always think Momma and Poppa have to be out there somewhere!

I still swim in the ocean, but I really like to have something to hold onto just in case I feel something on the bottom.

When I was three years old I was in the water with my older cousin and we were walking along on a sandbar and didn't know it. I took a step and went down, he saw me reached out and grabbed my hair and yanked me back up. My dad said the step off was about 9 feet or so. Another reason I prefer the pool where the bottom can be seen and felt.

Oh yes, we have fished offshore and caught a mess of sharks,always chucking the smallish ones back, but that one cruising between us in waist deep water made me realize we are just visiting at their home. But creeped me out and worried me nonetheless!

judym, are you a fisherwoman? My daughter loves to fish.

Yes, Dotsie, I just LOVE to fish- saltwater! Don't get nearly enough chance for it though. Give me a surf rod and some bait, I'm in heaven. Dad raised me to love fishing, crabbing, and clamming up in NJ when I was just a little one. He'd fish for the table, and it always was so good, plus a good bonding thing for us. Our travels have given me the chance to fish along the Eastern Seaboard a good bit, but I'm kind of landlocked now! My husband is an avid fly fisherman, but I haven't ever liked the freshwater fishing that much. Good on your daughter, wish her a good catch from me!!

BOy would my daughter like to ahng out with you and your hubby. Maybe he could teach her to fly fish. SHe's never done that.

My only memory of fly fishing is from when I was a teen. One of the guys was goofing off while fly fishing and hooked his stomach. I almost got sick when he shut his eyes, winced, and yanked the hook out of his stomach by pulling on the line. Makes me weak thinking about it.

My daughter, Ross, and duaghter's boyfriend are going on a rock fishing trip on the Chesapeake Bay in a couple weeks. They've been catching big ones, and lots of them.

Happy fishing.