"Buried" Treasure

3/9/2014

For many years, Jeff and I, together with the boys and their best friend, rented a house at the Outer Banks.  For a couple of years we only rented a house for one week and then decided a week wasn't worth all the effort.  You spend pretty much all day getting there, stopping at a grocery stuff to buy cold foods and finally trying to get settled in.  It was a lot of planning and work, but all of us enjoyed our time at the beach.  We were actually a caravan, Jeff and I in our car, Scott and Andy in our truck and Ken, their best friend in his own car.  

After a few years of one week of vacation, we opted to live life on the edge - and stay for two weeks!  Ah, two weeks is much better I assure you.  Everybody had an assigned task.  The boys were in charge of making sure that we were set up so we could use our laptops.  Staying connected is very important to our family.

What was my job?  Oh I'm sure you've guess it already.  I was the menu planner and cook.  I took my job seriously and even created an excel spreadsheet that I used every year to make sure I didn't forget ingredients.  The boys were always satisfied with my dinners.  I only made what I knew was everybody's favorite dishes  All of the boys liked my particular spaghetti recipe as well as a hamburger casserole which I used to make regularly for the family.  What wasn't my job?  Doing the dishes and emptying the trash - that was man's work!

Jeff was in charge of loading the truck with the necessary beach necessities - umbrellas, beach chairs, cooler, and one year even a tent type of structure where anyone who wanted out of the sun.  Our first trip to the beach with Ben he was only about 3 months old and even at that early age he giggled when his toes touched the water.  At that age naps are necessary, so under the tarp, we dug out a bed of sorts, lined with a towel, Ben slept soundly.  We all took turns sitting under the tarp with him, so that all of us adults could have some fun in the water.

Every time we were at the beach, one of my favorite things to do was to look for shells, unusual was preferable, and rocks that looked interesting to me.  Once at home, I filled the sink and rinsed off all my treasures.  Today, I have four very big containers filled with all my finds.

Last week I was moving some shells from one container to another one.  Don't bother to ask me why I thought that was necessary, but I truly felt compelled.  After getting the right mix of rocks and shells in each container that pleased me, I put the containers back in their usual places.  One morning, for no particular reason at all, I put my hand in one of those containers, and right at the top was an almost perfectly formed rock heart.  Somehow I knew that I was meant to find that rock and remove it from the container and put it on a chain so I could wear it.

Sometimes when you're not looking for anything, you find something that just seems to be a serendipitous occurrence. Finding that heart was that kind of occurrence for me.  I am convinced I was meant to find that rock and I'm glad that I did.  

We haven't been back to the beach for many years.  The boys are now married men and have jobs and can't take two weeks of vacation, all at one time.  While we may never be able to spend time with the boys at the beach again, I have a lifetime of memories of living at the beach, and I hope they do as well.

P