MEMORIES IN THE SAND

 

We spent the morning at the beach…

setting up our chairs and umbrella…walking hand in hand

listening to the waves, smelling the salt air…

as we strolled along the sand.

 

As we sat in the shade of our umbrella…

I listened to Deborah’s stories…memories she adores

of a time when she was younger…

with her family at the shore.

She remembers her mom packing up her three children

making sure they were close at hand…

encouraging them to play in the water…

making castles in the sand.

She remembers moments with her dad

just a father and a daughter…

when she could hold her father in her arms

because he was weightless in the water.

I remember taking our children to the beach…

pretending to be dolphins…all the pelicans we would see

battling the waves as we chose up teams 

and  played football in the sea.

While we were sitting in our chairs..

a large family with a host of children sauntered by…

the mother stopped in front of us…and looking directly into our eyes

Said, “It looks like you have it easy!” while letting out a moan

“We’ve been where you are,” we answered, “but now our children are all grown.”

“So I have something to look forward to.” She smiled…

And gave us both a wink…

“You do…but enjoy this while you can. “We said

“It’ll be over before you think.”

And as we bobbed among the waves…

watching families like hers playing together 

in the water…on the beach…or holding hands 

We thought how wonderful it would be 

if only for a moment

we were back to that time when our family was younger

and we were once again…making memories in the sand.