Thou shall embrace a simpler time...

“Simplify, simplify”

-Henry David Thoreau

I woke up today to find my daughter, Logan’s, cell phone on the nightstand. That, in and of itself, is completely normal. What was strange was that it was in the exact same spot since we arrived on vacation two days ago. The other girls’ phones also seem to have assumed a new position in their bags as opposed to their usual position of “firmly planted in their hands, fingers to keys, typing furiously.” 

Believe me, I’m not complaining. In fact, I’m celebrating it. The best part is I didn’t  even have to ask them to put them away. I didn’t have to bribe or as I like to call it “incentivize” the non-cell phone usage. Hard to believe, right? Actually, not really...all I had to do was bring them on vacation in Seaside, Florida.

This is my first time in Seaside and I must say, it will not be my last. For those of you who have never been, Seaside is a bit of stepping into the past. I drove our car here (yes, 14 long hours of girlie movies and top 40 music I never want to hear again) but I haven’t driven it since. The streets here are brick-lined and are infinitely better suited for bike-riding rather than car driving. I see cars being driven here but they appear bulky and almost out of place...kind of like when you see a 200 pound man trying to ride his ten year old son’s bike. 

It’s not as if there is a ban on cell phone usage but you just don’t see people studying their stocks and checking their emails like you customarily do. There are TVs in every room of our cottage but you just don’t see kids sitting in front of them as you do at home. 

Here games of whiffle ball and bocci seem to have replaced Nintendo and Wii. Here, evenings of bar-b-queuing and walks by the tiny shops have replaced runs through fast food drive-throughs and evenings of American Idol. And that, friends, is perfectly fine by me. 

This is a change of pace and a transporting back in time. Back to a simpler time. A time when families enjoyed their time together and entertainment came in the form of a stroll through the fresh market and stopping for a coke served in a 10 ounce glass bottle.

Yes, Seaside isn’t inexpensive. The milk Brooklyn drank in her bottle this morning was about $5.00 for half a gallon. But the flip side is that it was served from a frosty glass milk jug...A jug we purchased from the woman who claimed to be the “farmer’s wife” ...A jug we were warned to shake vigorously because the cream would have risen to the top...a jug you have to return for a refund...(which had my kids scratching their heads)...yes, that kind of old-school, traditional milk jug.

That jug is symbolic of Seaside itself...a remembrance of the past and yet perfectly delicious.

-Claudia