Letter from the editor: I’ll remember beach sand from the actual beach

By Courtney Warren

Do you ever have a moment where you wonder if you’ve gone overboard? As in…did I take this too far? Fortunately, for me, I never have to wonder this, because the answer is almost always “Yes, Courtney.” 

My daughter has recently become hyper-fixated on all things Pokémon. For those that don’t know, Pokémon is a brand that was created in Japan in the 1990s and tells the story of Pokémon trainers and over 1,000 creatures called Pokémon. The Pokémon trainers have the goal of catching all of the Pokémon and learning about them. 

Each Pokémon has different abilities, strengths and weaknesses, and personalities. My sweet child can not only name every single Pokémon, but she can draw them and tell you all about their stats. 

She came home several weeks ago talking about computer class–in which she discovered Google Maps. She typed in “Pokémon center” and found that the best Pokémon store is in Tokyo and the cost for two airplane tickets is around $3,000. For weeks, she has been saving for these plane tickets and putting all of her money in the Japan Jar. She has $32 and is very very proud of herself. 

In her Google searching, she also learned that Pokémon Day is celebrated on February 27 and marks the franchise’s birth. The day is also often used by The Pokémon Company for announcements and reveals, which in recent years have all been packed into the Pokémon Presents online show.

She was thrilled! A holiday! She got in the car that afternoon and asked how we would be celebrating this major event. At first, I thought it was silly. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that, even if I thought it was silly, I had the opportunity to create what I now call a “beach sand” moment. 

When my brothers and I were young, think elementary and primary school age, we lived in a giant house. It was in south Georgia and sat on several acres of wooded land. Behind the house was the cut out that was perfect for a playground. 

Now, I don’t know if the playground area already existed when we got there or if this was something my parents bought and placed there, but what I do remember is the sand. 

We didn’t go to the beach often–we weren’t a beach family, but when we did it was a very exciting time. The beach was always this exotic place to us, filled with sea creatures we had only seen on TV and in movies. 

One day, we told mom we wanted sand for our playground–but not just regular sand. We wanted beach sand. From the beach, Mother. The ones in Florida. 
Was that ridiculous and expensive? Yes. But she was a stay-at-home mom with nothing but time and access to a telephone, so it didn’t take long for two giant dump trucks full of beach sand from Florida to slowly back their way into our backyard. We spent hours playing in that sand. We dug tunnels, we made forts, we created castles. More importantly, we made core memories, because I’m still able to tell you this story at 35 years old. 

Which brings me back to Pokémon Day. The morning of February 27, I set up the kitchen. There was a banner that my students helped me create and read “Happy Pokémon Day!” The cookie cake was placed on the kitchen counter with care, iced to perfection to depict Pikachu’s and Berit’s name in the frosting. Surrounding the cake were Pokémon plushies, coloring books, cards that were donated by a few students, and her Nintendo Switch, which was fully charged and had a brand new Pokémon game loaded. 

“Is this too much? It’s kind of a lot,” my husband said as we pushed play on the Pokémon theme song. When our little girl ran into the kitchen, eyes bright, dressed in pink Pokémon pajamas, she didn’t run straight for the stuff. She didn’t immediately rip into the presents to celebrate Pokémon Day. She ran straight to us. She wrapped her arms around us and told us thank you and Happy Pokemon Day. 

So no, it wasn’t too much. It was just enough. It was the perfect Beach Sand Moment. 

Happy Pokémon Day to all.