We went away to the beach for a week. I took my laptop. I had all good intentions to blog while I was there; I never even took my laptop out of its little sleeve. Vacation should be just that—a time when one vacates what one usually does. And I definitely vacated. It was grand.
It had been almost twenty months since we had seen our daughter and these two grandchildren. All I can say is that it was glorious. To see them, to be with them, to laugh, to eat a ridiculous number of Rice Krispie Treats and Cheez-its, to watch the grandchildren swim like little porpoises in the pool, to watch episodes of the Disney+ series AMPHIBIA in the evenings with my granddaughter Penelope who has almost memorized the show, to listen to our grandson giggle, to enjoy a visit from my sister and my sister-in-law who came and spent a day with us, to read a novel (MALIBU RISING) from cover to cover in two days, to visit the Aquarium, to just be at the beach. Ah, the beach! The weather prediction was for rain every day during our week there; I think we had maybe 20 minutes of rain the entire time we were there. We are the lucky ones indeed.
How lucky to once again be with our family face-to-face. How lucky that we also got to travel to Minnesota in June to see our son and his family and to get to once again know our three grandchildren there, all who are amazing teenagers now. We had a true blast touring around Duluth, taking an open-air train ride on the Duluth Zephyr, eating smoked fish and Wisconsin cheese, watching our granddaughter’s softball games, getting slurpy dog kisses from Rico and Ruby, seeing the enormous ships come off Lake Superior and pass beneath the Aerial Lift Bridge.
The pandemic has separated us from many we love. Some like our family have not had to face the grief of being separated forever from those we love because of death or severe illness from this marauding virus. As hard as the physical separation has been, we are the lucky ones. Zoom and FaceTime and texting and phone calls have helped us keep in touch with one another. I do believe there is a certain wonderful magic to technology that allows this. I cannot fathom a time when one had to wait for a letter to make its way to your mailbox (and we all know that I do love a good tangible letter). I recently found the telegram my mother received from the US Army telling her that her husband (my dad) “had been severely injured in Italy” during World War II. The telegram instructed her that “a letter will follow with more details about his injuries.” That wait and worry until that letter arrived must have been agonizing. Our family was one of the lucky ones as our Dad did survive his war injuries and lived to be more than 80 years old. Our Dad got to enjoy watching three children grow up; attend birthdays and graduations and weddings; love, tease, and play with five grandchildren. Call it lucky, call it blessed, call it a miracle.
How lucky we are that we can travel, that we could go to Minnesota, that we got to go to the beach and have a wonderful vacation. I try to be mindful and not take these joys and privileges for granted. I realize they are pure gift. Especially in this time of the corona virus.
Now we are all back in our home nests, back relying on the world of technology to keep us in touch. But that in-person magic is still fresh in our minds and our hearts and will hold us until we are together in-person once again. We are the lucky ones indeed.
Glad you all were able to spend precious time with your family at the beach and in Minnesota. When the opportunity presents itself we should make time to be with family and friends, people we love. Sounds as if you all had a wonderful time!
It was wonderful that we have the time and resources to connect with our children and grandchildren. Wish it was more often.