The little beaded hummingbird is a present from the oldest boy, his girlfriend and the little 4 year old to say thank-you for the beach vacation. Although they stayed in the house we rented and mostly had dinner with us, they sort of had their own vacation that had nothing to do with us! This is not completely true, as there was joint fishing on the dock and a joint trip to the doggie beach. But it was true enough.
I suppose I could talk about the girlfriend, whom we don't know particularly well and who never quite relaxed. I had the impression that she really wanted to be away from us, not necessarily because she didn't like us, but more because she didn't know us yet and everything was a bit awkward. And many couples like to do quite a bit of bonding before they venture out in public.
I think the more relevant fact for my purposes here is just that fact that going on holiday with adult children is not exactly the same as going on holiday with them when they are younger. They have cars and they zoom off whenever they like. It's sort of nice as you don't have to worry about planning outings, coordinating everyone to be at the and place at the same time or any of all that family vacation hullabaloo. But on the other hand, you don't get the benefits that come after the hullabaloo, either. I could have organized big outings to the beach, for example, but chose not to. I was in a state of mind to drift through the week.
I did organize dinner and so we all met up once a day no matter what. By "organize," I do include organizing the boys to produce a dinner each. One boy got sick and barely made it to the beach for just a couple days, and certainly didn't produce dinner, another bought pizza and the third planned ahead of the trip. That boy and his girlfriend produced a lavish feast involving marinated steaks, fried fish, a fabulous broccoli and cheese and a gallon can of fruit cocktail for dessert, which I was more than a bit bemused to see him dish up and pass around for everyone when it was time for dessert. That boy, by the way, was absolutely furious with the second for not having put more effort into his allocated evening. Brotherly love, you know. If his brother had served lobster on porcelain plates along with linen napkins and rose petals floating in little finger bowls, the boy would have found some way to make disparaging comments. It's just what they do. I was happy with the pizza and I was happy with the steak because I was happy we were all together. (And that was two nights I was not personally producing said dinner. )
Yeah, I know. Dippy and sentimental. But isn't that the whole purpose of a large family gathering at the beach?
I loved your story about your beach tree which sounded remarkably similar to a few we have had in the past with our adult children. I could definitely identify with some of the sentiments. As a matter of fact that was how we met our only daughter-in-law. The fact that she survived and participated so well in the first meeting with us on a beach trip was a very good indication that she should become a permanent member of our family.
Pretty objects you have chosen to photograph today. How thoughtful love your son and his friend to provide you this photo opportunity.
I have never been on a trip like this. I like the idea of a vacation with my brothers and their families, but it's not going to happen. The child was sweet to bring you a gift.
July 30th, 2021
Leave a Comment
Sign up for a free account or Sign in to post a comment.
Pretty objects you have chosen to photograph today. How thoughtful love your son and his friend to provide you this photo opportunity.