Our Last Hoorah By the Sea!

Labor Day weekend in the Northeast signals the "unofficial" end of summer weekends at the beach . . . for most.  Kids are back at school, resuming sports and just too busy to spend relaxing fall weekends by the sea. Our island slowly closes for the winter months.

This weekend draws a rather large crowd to our beach house.  It is really the last weekend when both of our grown children make it a point to celebrate the summer with friends on our little island.  They will start moving in this evening and keep coming all weekend.  There will be no beds left, although lots of spare blankets and pillows.  Not to mention floor space.  The Margaritaville machine will be working overtime . . . all weekend.  We will run out of ice!  The grill will probably run out of propane and both dishwashers will be constantly full.   Our hot water heater will most definitely offer someone a cold shower  . . . it will more than likely be me.  The refrigerator will be empty by Monday, as well as the pantry.  There will be loads and loads of towels to wash.  And piles of sand to vaccum.  Sounds like fun, right?  Well . . . it actually is.

Photographs will record the smiles and toasts, not to mention the wiffleball games on the beach.  Yes, they will complain about Mom taking one more picture . . . only to find them uploaded on all of their facebook pages the next day.

After this weekend, my husband and I will enjoy quieter weekends by the sea.  We will have our "adult" friends down more often for walks around the lighthouse and dinners at our favorite local restaurants. Bike rides for breakfast meals.  Our golden retriever, Sadie, and our new golden puppy, Tucker, will be bouncing on the beach when the season is over chasing birds and carrying shells.  Would I want every weekend this quiet?  No way!

Like everything in life, our weekends at the beach are a balance.  Craziness and quiet.  A little of both makes me happy!