Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Just Add Water

I can't remember a summer as full as this summer has been. Guest room sheets have been washed on the weekly, sometimes twice weekly with people coming and going. I look for blank spaces in the calendar and see none. Almost none. I've spent more time with my mother and my daughters and my grandchildren this summer than at any other time in recent history and I'm not mad about it. 

In fact, it's been pretty wonderful. 

I need to catch my breath, except remember that calendar with no blank space? Rolling in to fall we'll be looking much the same. Daughter2 asked me to send her a list of Sundays we might be able to travel over for baby boy's dedication service and I said there are three. Three between now and the first of November which sounds crazy even to me. 

My heart feels so full of family right now and I've realized that this is the antidote to all the icky noisy angry stuff and nonsense going on in the world today. Circle the wagons and love your people. My daughter has a verse in her kitchen that I also have tried to keep in mind, this summer especially-

'And aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, 
as we instructed you.' 1 Thessalonians 4:11

Now I know you're probably thinking it's not real quiet here, but in the sense this verse implies we are living a quiet life. To me that means having a close circle of family and friends, filtering out distractions, appreciating the gift of beauty found in creation, and enjoying the small things.  

Let's talk about the beach. 

I haven't had my toes in ocean sand since before Covid. We do have islands in our lake that have sandy beaches, but ocean life is different than lake life. 

Daughter1's hubs had a medical conference in Kiawah Island SC and they invited us to come along for the first half of their trip and the in-laws to come along for the second half. Whenever I say inlaws hubs reminds me we are also 'the inlaws' but for the sake of my blog I use the term to mean them, not us. 

We stayed in one of the 3-bedroom villas at The Sanctuary and had an absolutely marvelous time which included sun, sand, and an 8 PM bedtime for everyone-ha! Almost. 

We loaded up the wagon after breakfast most mornings for the short easy trek to the beach. Along the way we crossed a little foot bridge with marshy river water on either side and hubs had the boys saying 'we're in Gator country now'. Which we were. Alligators look like they're sizing you up when you pass by, don't they? 

We live in South Carolina so we made the kids walk on the inside of the path which may sound a little paranoid but better safe than sorry. 

Every day we counted the alligators and turtles, heron and skink. 

We counted moments and smiles and how many times Nana and the mancub climbed that great big ladder at the resort pool, the one that led to the swirly twirly twisty turny water slide for a fun fast ride down.

A lot. A lot, a lot. In fact Nana lost count of how many a lots but there were a lot. 

Besides swimming and sliding and beaching and nature observing we had fun dinners, a favorite being fresh fish and fries at the Salty Dog Cafe that sits beside the marina-

One evening we sat and sipped Prosecco in the Ryder Cup Bar overlooking the famed Ocean Course. If you golf you know this course is a big deal, and if you don't just know the Ryder Cup Bar is lovely and the views wonderful. Also don't try to go when the President comes to town. 

Fortunately we left town before the President arrived or we wouldn't have been able to get through the gate.

Or on the green-

Days at Kiawah found us with our feet in the surf...

and fish on the line...

...in hand too...

There were boys on boogie boards-

sandy hands-

sandy bottoms-

sandy castles-

and sandpipers-

There were beautiful reflections-

beautiful sunsets-

Ice cream dreams...

Memories made...


...and more love shared than a heart can hold. 

8 comments:

  1. This post made my heart so happy for all of you (even the in-laws!)!! Family and memories get us through the days and months and years!! You are so very blessed and I know you know!! xo

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  2. You have been a busy, busy woman and sounds like more busyness in your future. Keep making memories and enjoy it all!

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  3. What a lot of memories being made. Love it!

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  4. How beautiful. You are so blessed.

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  5. That first paragraph says it all, "I've spent more time with my mother and my daughters and my grandchildren this summer than at any other time in recent history and I'm not mad about it." That is a lovely quote your daughter has in her kitchen. OMG the photos tell it all. What a lovely time you had. It all looks so beautiful and tons of fun. I'm so happy for all of you.

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  6. Don't you cherish those "too many moments to count and never enough" times? These truly are some of the greatest days for your family. Thank you for taking us along.

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  7. I just love seeing pictures of you enjoying your grandchildren! I have been following your blog since your oldest daughter got married! I enjoy reading about your relationship with your daughters. I have two daughters also. Thank you for sharing your family.

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