Beach Bliss

We got back from the Jersey shore last night at about 10:30 p.m. (stayed there for mass). Joe was off to Boy Scout camp early this morning and already our trip seems ages away.

I am treasuring some beach memories, though, like:

• Daniel and Joseph wrestling in the ocean with their cousin. I'm talking about pushing, pulling, holding down, throwing, etc. in (and under) the waves. I outlawed sand throwing, but they were happy with all the other "rough stuff". I haven't seen them play that way before, but all three had a great time wearing themselves out.
• My cousin orchestrated the construction of a sand castle with many fancy decorations (pebbles, shells) while I dozed in a chair.
• Holding Becca's hands while she leapt and squealed in the water. She spent most of her time digging, digging, digging. I enjoyed watching her focused activity.
• Watching Marianna play with Becca in the waves (at four, Rebecca doesn't even go to her waist without a partner) and sand before inevitably spending time with a new kid. That girl is so outgoing and people-oriented!
• We girls went out for ice cream while the boys were at a card tournament. Afterwards we walked to the playground. Rebecca is learning to pump on a swing, and my cousin's adorable Havanese learned to climb a plastic "hill". Then she played crazy-run-around-in-circles-chase-me-chase-me-you-can't-catch-me doggie--it was hilarious!
• There were fireflies out most evenings. Next to the playground the girls chased them on a broad lawn interspersed with a few trees and backed by greenery; it looked like a fairyland.
• With rip tides a danger, we had two days when the life guards wouldn't allow people into the water past about mid-thigh. On Saturday when the beach was crowded, the guards (at least four on our section of waterfront) were frequently whistling and gesturing to bring people closer in or move them further away from the currents. Sometimes they had to climb down from their tall stands and herd the crowd like so many sheep. What a tough job that must be, keeping so many safe, especially in rough water!
• My cousin's husband often works from home, so he's been at the beach (instead of in SC) most of the summer. He spends much of his time on the phone and the computer, but we had some nice chats, too. He's awesome at "uncling" as well (although my big kids insist he's actually a "first-cousin-once-removed-in-law")--telling stories, taking the boys out, and making games out of chores. (Yes, there was some jostling to see who would "get" to clean off the surf board...) What a treat it was to have him there!
• My cousin and I usually bob waves and enjoy girl-talk, but we didn't get to it until the last day, so we couldn't go out far. Chatting in the ocean, even in a crowd, is made private by all the wave noise.
  

I hope you're making some special memories this summer.

Christmas Memories

Click on the link, and when the music starts playing, minimize the screen. That should bring you back here to read while you listen.

http://wpriorymusic.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/02-something-which-is-known1.mp3

One of my favorite Christmas memories is of the first time our family (I was in high school or college) spent the week at Weston Priory in Vermont. We stayed in a renovated barn heated by a wood furnace. The monks cut down a giant tree for us, which we covered with paper snowflakes. Most of the family went skiing nearby while I played in the deep snow with my little sister who could walk on top of the ice crust. We walked through the woods to attend 5:00 a.m. prayer in the darkness with the monks. They sang then, and during the Christmas Eve mass which was followed by a breakfast brunch. Was it midnight mass? My mom must remember many more details than I do. It was a peaceful, active, reflective, religious, family Christmas.

I finally bought myself a "monk cd" as we call it, and am savoring their songs of Advent and Christmas.

Do you remember your favorite Christmas?

A Book Review and a Memory

We've been listening to All of a Kind Family these past few days. It's the first book of a series by Sydney Taylor about an observant Jewish family in NYC in the early 1900s. It's sweet and fun--the author understands children well.

She's a good teacher, too. In the course of telling a good story, she's explained many Jewish traditions and practices; we recognized most of our Seder meal in her description of Passover. I highly recommend this audio, although you may want to make a cheat sheet early on to keep the children straight. I just looked at the back of the box and found out I had daughters #2 and #3 mixed up.

A special meal in the story set off my memory. As the family celebrates the weekly Sabbath, they all drink some of "the sweet, dark, red wine that Papa made himself."

Instantly I was at a sunny park in California, toasting my brother's marriage with a sip of sweet, dark, red wine (the best I ever tasted) that our Opa had made himself.

That was a happy day, but now I am missing Opa. He was a wonderful grandfather.

A Blast from the Past

This is one of three matching dresses made by my mom for me and the next two sisters in line. She used fabric she bought on a vacation to Hawaii (actually sheets, I think). We wore them (LONG ago), and then our cousins did, followed by our littlest sister, and Lauren, then her cousins, and finally Marianna and Becca. Well traveled and well loved...
Click on the bottom photo if you want a closeup.