Just got home from our weekend at Cape Cod visiting my parents at their time share. On our way back, we stopped off and met my old high school friend Jenny and her husband for lunch, at a restaurant in the town we both grew up in.
The weekend was filled with lots of rain, wind, fog, nostalgia, and remembering times past while making new memories too. We did simple things (because it was pouring and very windy most of the weekend) like played Yatzee, watched the movie “Elf” which my mom had never seen, ate breakfast at my favorite Falmouth restaurant “Crabapples”, and walked by the ocean with our hoods on and our jackets on and our hair tied up in ponytail holders so the wind wouldn’t blow it away. We swam in the indoor pool in the condo community center, and we sat outside on beach chairs and watched the waves crash on the rocks during high tide.
Over the years, that time share condo has held a lot of memories for my family. Its where Don and I honeymooned back in 2006. Its where we went many times with the whole family back when Don was alive and back when my brother and his ex-wife were still together. It’s where Don held little 2 year old Brian in his arms, pointed to the water while standing out on the patio, and taught him the word “ocean.” It’s where Don and I played many games of tennis on the court in the back of the building. (they have since taken the courts down and put in a playground , bocci ball and shuffleboard courts instead.) It’s where we took a family picture on the steps outdoors leading into the second floor condo. It’s where Don would stand on the bayside and toss pebbles into the still water for hours at a time. It’s where I scattered some of his ashes after he died; trying to somehow reach all those same spots where he skipped the stones across the water. It’s where I sat on the jeti, heartbroken after my post-loss boyfriend broke things off with me through a text message, stating that he was going back to his ex-girlfriend to “try again.” It’s where Nick drove me to a few years back on my wedding anniversary, to scatter more ashes to the already existing ones; because I wanted to go “visit” Don and was extra sad that year for some reason. It’s where I saw evidence of my dad aging faster than ever, and of time going by much quicker than I would prefer. It’s where time is stopped by the ocean waves, and by games of Trivial Pursuit, and of rainstorms and losing power and lighting candles and laughing and eating bagels together. It’s where memories go to come back alive, and where families go to re-connect.
It was not the weekend we expected it to be, but it was another weekend with family that will live inside my heart forever. Time is a cruel-hearted beast, and family vacation spots are perfect opportunities to slow things down, just for a little while.