Ahhh. Spring break on South Padre Island. Not a bad place to be, even if you aren’t 18 or 20 years old. So, today we cranked up the hot tub and enjoyed the sun and warm weather right here in the backyard so we could just think we are “breakers.” It is nice to be home for awhile. I know I said I would write more about Dubai as well as my visit to Oman, but that has to wait until next week. Spring Break calls right now.
People ask me why I stay when the island is filled (literally) with college kids from all over the state, especially the University of Texas and Texas A&M. And I tell them they don’t bother me. I do whatever I need to do early in the morning while they are still sleeping off their hangovers and then by 3:00 in the afternoon I try to be sure I’m tucked in at home. This is not the week to be going out to a restaurant.
Actually, spring break is about a month long here because kids from other states visit here during their breaks, but generally they fly in and walk wherever they need to go, which is nice compared to all the cars this week. But, most of these kids are polite and nice, and just want to hang out and have fun. I will say though that the island does sort of vibrate from the bass on some of the less cool kids’ radios.
That said, however, unless you want to feel REALLY OLD, you stay away from the beach. It’s not cool to walk along the shore wearing Capri pants. Anyone over 25 definitely stands out in a crowd of bikinis. Of course, if I wore a bikini I would stand out, and bulge out and hang out…all over. But I must admit I did walk over one year just to see what was going on, and did I ever see!!! More than I wanted to!!
But a tradition I have developed is to ride around in my little red jeep with the top down so they can drive up and start to flirt. Then I turn and smile with my 58 year old smile and suddenly I see the look on their faces. I get such a perverted pleasure seeing their disappointment—maybe it’s my way of coping with being old in a sea of skin and youth.
Maybe, it’s simply because I am happy to be just where I am in life—comfortable in my own skin, even though it sags a little and shows a few wrinkles. They’ll get there if they live long enough. And I say, enjoy! It passes pretty darn fast.