The Beach

I'm allergic to sand.
Doctor's diagnosed my allergy when I was young so there was no point in trying to go to the beach, it'd be a death trap for me.
Had an incident in third grade where we played with sand in class and my throat closed and I was rushed to the hospital. 
I was never able to go to the playground during recess because of my allergy, I always sat in the library reading a new book.
It wasn't until I was 14 and I begged my mom to take me to the beach.
Folly beach.
It was around Thanksgiving time so it wasn't swimming conditions by any means. 
I'll never forget my first step onto the sand. So strange and foreign. The squishy and slightly warm sand between my toes. How beautiful and purely yellow the sand looked.
I started running shortly after a few steps. I couldn't help myself. I felt like a toddler taking their first steps and discovering they could not only walk, but they could run as well.
Also toddler like, I found a big sand hill and rolled down it, giggling the entire time.
How inflamed and irritated my skin was, but I didn't care. 
If this were the last thing I'd ever do, I was content with it.
I took so much medicine I felt like I could've fell into a coma when I took a nap on the ride home.
It never made sense to me when people say they hate the beach and the sand gets everywhere.
How could you hate a place so magical? 
How could you hate something so gorgeous? 
Seeing a sunset while sitting on the beach will never be topped.
It also occurred to me, there was some major irony was in play here. My mother moved from up north, New Jersey, to here just for the beach. She then had a daughter who was severely allergic to the thing she loved most. She could never explain to me enough how much the beach meant to her, how much she adored it, how a few hours on the beach made her week.
Then I felt the sand between my toes, I ran on that sand, I not only saw but felt the beauty of the beach. I finally understood my mother. 
Now I hope she can understand me, how much I'd sacrifice for an hour on the beach. 
The beach is to die for, for me at least.

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