It's not often that my husband and I can pretend that we do not have responsibilities in South Jersey. It is hard to imagine life without the business to run or the possibility for my husband to be called in for overtime. Pretending comes easy for youngsters and that makes me a little jealous. In a instant they can be a beautiful princess or a super hero fighting crime, miles away from bills and rising gas price worries. Getting the adult imagination to work is often a challenge.

I always feel like a broken record saying the word "no"
to my children. I need to protect them and teach them, but I wonder if my children think that "NO" is my favorite word. It is my job to make sure they have finished their vegetables and aren't killing each other in the next room. I need to monitor their manners and hope they are polite and loving towards their grandparents. I am a mom. I have to be. I am learning that sometimes playing referee, managing the money, and making sure they are on their best behavior overtakes the hugest responsibility: to share love, show love, and teach them how to love.

I decided that my husband and I could use some time to pretend and my kids could use some time to play with their parents. Sometimes we need to be parents that aren't side tracked by the monotonous things that hold true to an adult life in Cape May County. So for one day, we left the house, got in the car, and pretended we were going on a vacation. Our vacation destination was Ocean City. I have grown up in this county and have lived here my whole life. Being a visitor is something I had never experienced. I have been there more times than I can count. I had been to the town as a tour guide to a visiting guest or to meet up with some family I haven't seen in a few months, but this time was different. This was the day I saw Ocean City the way that thousands of eyes see it every summer, as a tourist.

I pretended it was the first time we ever saw the beach. The kids laughed because I was acting so silly about something we often see in Stone Harbor or Wildwood.
We parked the car and rounded up
our spare quarters for the meters. For a moment, I felt bad for those "real" tourists that have to pay
25 cents for just 15 minutes to park.

The steep price of $1.00 per ticket didn't scare us away like normal. That day, we were shoobies (of course without the belly bags holding cameras and socks worn with flip flops). I was not afraid to make a big deal every time the Fire Truck ride passed by with the two most adorable passengers in it, my boys.
I pretended I didn't care if anyone I knew was working at the ticket booth behind me. My arms were flailing all around so my youngest could find me each time they passed and I didn't care what anyone thought.

We walked around a lot as my boys decided how they were going to spend their tickets. It was a fun time!
I knew that a moment was made the second my husband lifted his boy up on his shoulder and explained the dredger, a huge machine in the ocean, to my 5 year old son. What is probably an eye sore to the tourists was a cool bonding moment for my boy and his dad. By the time we got the kids in the car, they were smiling from ear to ear.

That night, bed time came a little earlier. I have to thank the bright sun and entertainment in Ocean City for that. Earlier bed times means more adult time with just me and my man. That can make any day even better, just when I thought we had the perfect day already.