Hermosa Beach

Friday morning I woke up and thought....I feel like going to the beach today...and so we dropped everything, packed a couple of bags and the whole family headed to Southern California...Just like that...




Oh sorry- I think I just snorted I was laughing so hard. I just wanted to see how awesome it felt to write that and be that girl for just 5 minutes. You know- the completely spontaneous one. We did go to the beach... we did leave Friday morning...however, this trip was planned. I'm often spontaneous when it comes to my day to day life (when I can be- which isn't too often)- but the bigger stuff has Control Freak stamped all over it.

The list of things I miss about Southern California includes Chicken Maison, The Beach, Shopping and some of the World's best physicians. So on Friday we went up for a previously planned doctors appointment and decided to stay the night in the town we lived in before we moved to the Central Valley of California.



Hermosa Beach is in the South Bay region of the greater Los Angeles area, nestled on the Pacific Ocean. It's about a 4 hour drive from where we live now.


I had forgotten how much Hermosa Beach was part of me...

Not part of my past...part of me....and I guess that's why when we went back- it's as if we had never left...Time had stayed still...sure, some restaurants and stores were new...

And some were the same...



Where Michael and I met...No, seriously- at a bar...and not just a bar, but a kind of trashy one... Don't tell anyone.




It felt like we lived there just a few short months ago. I'm exactly the same person I was when we left 2 years ago, and completely and utterly and entirely different all the same. My entire life has changed... I quit working in pharmaceutical sales, had a baby, started a photography business, found out I had a Spectrum kid, shared a blog and started working on Changing The World...(with your help). Shew. What a wild and amazing ride.

And seeing my kids loving something as much as I do, makes me pretty darn giddy.













When was the last time you had your toes in the sand?





You know the joy you want to bring into your kids lives? I want you to bring it into yours too.



I never knew seeing something through their eyes...was like seeing it for the first time all over again.




When we are on the beach...he is at peace...and so am I.

On Saturday the air was cool and the marine layer was thick. It was a beautiful change from the heat of Fresno. The average Summer temperature there is 70 degrees.

Greyson and I were so happy watching the surfers.




Watching them wait forever for a good wave to come along....


I could see them getting pelted in the face with cold water...they would finally getting a good wave, and then eat it and fall off their board, sometimes before they even had a chance to stand up...and then they would get up, swim out, and do it all over again...



And finally in their patience that one wave would come along...and they would ride it...


And that adrenaline and joy had to carry them over and had to carry them through the crappy in between parts...

And I never got it...going through lots and lots of hard stuff to get to the quickly-ending good parts...But now that I'm a Mom...





I get it...Wow...I totally get it. The good times make the hard- in between- getting pelted in the face with water times- worth it. I wish you could have seen him walk around on the pier. Like he has lived there all his life. 

And although I thought our life in Hermosa Beach was perfect- I'm realizing there can be more than one possibility for perfection in your life. You just have to be open to it. (Please note: any time I mention perfection or my attainment of it I mean flawed, real World, one day it sucks the next day is heaven- perfection).





I love that the Marine layer always clears- you just have to wait.




It's strange- loving Hermosa this much- but still happy and confident in the fact that Fresno is the right home for us.

And I am realizing the last 30 minutes of any road trip home - is hell (especially when you have teeth coming in). Whether it is a 4 hour drive or a 6 hour one.





I've always decided against allowing ads to be put on this blog because I never for one second wanted anyone to think that my intention in writing these words was for any reason other than creating Awareness for Autism--- Not to make money...But over the weekend I thought- People who come here and read know me well enough to know where my heart is...and having a Typical or Spectrum kid isn't free - so why not do both? Write about Awareness and make a couple of bucks. So bear with me while I try it out. The ads are supposed to be appropriate to my audience, but so help me goodness- if there is one ad for enlargement of anything or something I don't agree with -I will stop it immediately. And if you see anything wonky- please let me know.

And lastly, THANK YOU to everyone that has signed up to be a Member of Life With Greyson!!! There are now 194 Friends Helping us Change the World. If you haven't already- sign up! You don't get a thing for it- but it's FREE! TRUST ME- When we hit 200 people confetti will fly, horns will go off and we will be jumping for joy over here!! Help us get there!