And Just Like That

 The last time I slept in my house alone was on June 17th.  Since then my life, and house, have been filled with one and then 3 more and then 3 more and then one more and then 3 more, until dinner on August 2nd, when we had all four kids and 5/6 grandchildren at the dinner table!  The hoops that had to be jumped through for this happen were not insignificant.  Turns out this is not an easy place to get to, especially this summer.  Beginning on August 3rd, the house started to empty slowly and steadily until a couple of weeks ago, when TJ headed to Cape Breton and I was alone in my own house for the first time in 7 1/2 weeks.  This may not seem like a big deal to many of you, but as one tired but happy Gigi, Mom and wife...I embraced this time.  My battery needed some serious recharging. 

The first time in 5 years all 4 kids have been at the shore...at the same time.
It was a brief overlap, but it happened!

Seems a theme of the summer, for my peer group, has been living life as a member of the "sandwich generation".  Many of us still have living parents, some were here this summer, but lately fewer and fewer are able to make the trip.  While I am not the caretaker of my mother, I do think about her daily and there is that constant concern...albeit from afar.  Many of my peer group have much closer and "hands on" experiences with their parents.  We also have grown kids who are married and now have families of their own.  One of the reasons we shared this special place with our families is that we hoped some day they too would share it with their children.  And now they have!  What this translates into as far as shore life is we find ourselves being pulled in many directions.  As if shore life didn't offer enough directions to be pulled in already!

One of the results of having our families here though is that for part of the summer, we are busier than a person should be...on vacation.  Of course, at this point, those of us who spend months up here can hardly be considered "on vacation".  We are just living life in a different location. (more on that subject in a later post) In the early weeks, we spend time with our friends and relatives for dinner and sit on the beach or porches at night and enjoy the quiet easy life.  Once our families arrive, we all retreat to our own family vortexes.  Our time is spent enjoying the days and nights with our kids and grandchildren.  There just aren't enough hours in the day or energy to venture too far from the immediate family, especially when you only get to be with your immediate family two or three times a year!  These are precious moments!  Still, I can't help but want to hang out with everyone on the beach!  We do have fleeting moments spent catching up with various people along the beach, but really when family is here, we are doing family time, as are all the other families.

So, when I found myself in my house, alone, with all the time I needed or wanted to go and make those outside connections, I retreated inside for a day or two instead.  I just needed to let the dust settle (sweep it all up) and first connect with myself before I connected with anyone else.  Transitions.  Sometimes they take a day or two.  Now we are back to the slower, steadier, part of the summer where hanging out with my cousins and our shore friends is routine.  The summer definitely has several stages, as I have said before.

Lately, with the sun moving slowly across the horizon and the days getting noticeably shorter I find myself wondering how it all went by so fast!  I am overwhelmingly thankful for the gift of being able to spend months up here again after one year away and last year only being here for a comparatively short time.  It feels like "normal"!  I have been able to see the many colors of the wildflowers from the purples and pinks of the lupins in June, to the hot pink flames of the fireweed in July to the white Queen Anne's Lace and now the yellow ragweed and gold wheat fields.  Summer is brief and glorious up here!  

June

July into August

July

August

August...a hint of fall is in the air by now.

The pattern of life at the shore follows the seasons.  Early summer when nature is still waking up, the population gradually grows as well.  Once July hits and summer is in full bloom, the sun shines from 5 a.m. until 10 p.m. the shore crowd grows to maximum capacity and life is crammed full.  In August, as the sun moves slowly across the horizon and daylight hours begin to shorten, people start to go back home to their real lives and the beach crowd gets older...because all the families with kids have to leave for school.  I have missed this visible transition over the last couple of years.  Seasons don't change as dramatically in the south.  Life mimicking nature makes me feel very connected...possibly one of the things I love the most about this place. 

I still have high hopes of writing more, once I find myself with hours of time to spare.  Fat chance!  The ideas are there, plenty of photos to back up those ideas too.  Inevitably doing other things and actually living the life I write about takes priority.  There will be time...someday.   For now I will just keep enjoying nature and watching the colors change.

June 2022
About as far over the water as we get to see.

July 2022, the sun is making its move to the left over the land.

August 2022
Moving farther and farther along the horizon....

One more sign of time marching on.....the garden!

June 2022 garden of possibilities

July garden is starting to pop

August garden!  We need more people to help eat!

I just love this!

And just like that, only 3 more weeks left up here.  It happens every time!  Enjoy these final few days of summer, we certainly will!