The Pull of the Ocean

I wrote a post in 2023 after we had our last family beach vacation. Our grandsons were getting older and their social lives spilled over the boundaries of the family unit. My husband and I were less likely to partake of all the social aspects that a week at the beach presented. Not that we didn’t enjoy quiet time listening to the ocean waves, we didn’t interact much with our grandson’s as in years before. The decision to forgo our yearly family get-togethers at a beach rental was made. 

During a BBQ lunch with my daughter after we finished a garden tour in Oakwood, a Raleigh neighborhood with many homes on the national register, we confessed to each other that we really missed the ocean. My daughter found a great discount on an oceanfront house. We locked in a rental available in two weeks. This time the family make up was different. Two of our three grandsons would be able to come—one only for a few days. The oldest was visiting a girlfriend in Vermont. My son and his partner already had plans to visit NYC. 

A more relaxed schedule prevailed. We had less time to anticipate the week at the beach and more time to enjoy the moment: listening to the waves, watching the pelicans dive for fish, walking on the sand, and smelling the salt air. 

The ocean had called. We answered.