Summers End

“Conflicted” would be the word to best describe my feelings this time of year.  On the one hand, I hate to see summer drawing to an end and the kids going back to the school, and on the other hand, I absolutely can't wait to get back to a normal routine.

Summer at the beach is wonderful.  My house is full of kids at all times with tons of laughter and activity.  With that, however, comes about 20 towels to wash a day, a bucketful of sand to clean off my floors, and pillows to constantly readjust on the couches where the kids have lounged.  On a rare occasion that I actually buy “fun” food  (which my kids claim I never do), it is devoured before I even get it out of the bag – with the empty boxes/bags left for me to throw away. Evenings with high school and college kids in the house are filled with  endless late night “events”.  I’m always amazed and delighted when Tom and I venture out to the porch to sit and talk, and the next thing you know – here come the kids -- wanting to hang with us - the   college boys enjoying cigars with Tom.  I LOVE that!  Those kids make me laugh, and my heart bursts from their excitement over the smallest things.   The clean up the next morning is another story…  They think they’ve cleaned everything up, and to their credit they try, but I am left  finding the leftover cans, cigar remains, picking up wet sand filled towels, and taking sheets off all the beds.   Laundry has become synonymous with summer in my world -- Somehow I feel like I'm not alone!

Along with the kid filled activity in the house comes the tourists’ activities on the beach.  Our nice little beach town transforms from a quiet place to a crazy tourist haven in the summer.  The normal 10-minute jaunt from my house to the mainland becomes a stressful 20-minute drive, stuck behind tourists oblivious to the world around them. If there is a fender bender on the bridge – which often happens because tourists like to enjoy the view while crossing and forget to watch the car in front of them -  the wait could be hours.  But I surprise myself when I say that having the tourists take over our island for a couple of months is kind of nice.  It changes the energy.   I love nothing more than to sit on my front porch and watch people check into the homes around me.  You see them literally running out on the decks to see the view, and you can “feel” their excitement.  It makes me appreciate where I am -- helps me realize that I should remember to see the beauty as well.  It will surprise other islanders to hear me say this, but when tourists come to our island, a certain civility takes over.  The beach road becomes a walking path, and you see people walking their dogs, riding their bikes, and talking to one another.  People are so much more open at the beach.  They relax.  I love to garden early in the morning, and the walkers and bike riders often  stop to chat with me. We will start out talking about my flowers or what it’s like to live on the beach, then end up sharing our stories with each other.  Just random, very short term encounters that make my day. 

Our backyard is the beach, which is public, and although not crowded relatively speaking, is more active than usual.  The dolphins sense this, and their trips in front of our house become infrequent.  The pelicans only fly overhead, and you hear many more seagulls screeching, as tourists love nothing more than to throw bread in the air to attract them – ugh.  The bocce ball and cornhole games are in full gear,  dogs are chasing tennis balls in the water, and the kids are screaming with delight as they boogie board and play in the sand.  The nights are full of activity, and this is something I adore about living on the beach.  People grill using charcoal, and the smell brings back childhood memories of my grandparents' lake cottage.  We have season long fireworks shows up and down the beach with the tourists taking their amateur displays seriously.  Other than the stray shell that lands on our pool deck, we love this, and it’s so fun to join the tourists in cheers of appreciation when a good one is shot.  You will hear squeals from kids and adults alike as they carry their flashlights searching for crabs, and laughter echoes throughout as people enjoy cocktails during the evenings.  People are having fun – and that is an amazing sound!

So now, the summer activity has come to a close…  The kids are heading back to school, and a certain calmness has taken over.  You can physically feel the difference.  The waves calm down, and the birds start to sit on the beach again.  I can wake up in the morning, look out for a few minutes and almost always watch a school of dolphins swim by.  The earth rotates to a position where soon we will get both the sunrise and the sunset in front of our house because we face south, and at night I look straight out on the big dipper from my front steps.  It is magical.  It’s almost like our little island is finally exhaling after the intrusion of tourists - saying,  "That was fun, but I'm happy they're gone."

This is my favorite time – when everything gets back to normal.  I can once again schedule my dogs’ walks on the beach around the tide instead of around tourists.  They can have the full extension of their leashes, and the only thing I have to dodge is a fishing line from one of the surf fishermen.   We all become calmer.  I can go out on my deck and blare my music without worrying about disturbing anyone, and I am at peace.  I’m lucky that I’m very comfortable in my times alone.  I love to have people around me; don’t get me wrong – just not all the time.  I’m a true Aquarian… I need my solitude, and life on the beach provides that for me.  I love the summertime here.  My life is chaotic, unscheduled and fast paced in these times, but once summer ends, I go back to normal…. slower…. calmer... and as long as I have my  periodic adventures…..happier.