Oh, my Sweeties! Gramps and I had such a grand weekend! We traveled to the Texas coast – Surfside Beach, to be precise. We went to preview the site of our son’s wedding planned for June 9th.

We were joined be our son Big Boy, his fiance Sweet Girl, her 2 boys ages 6 and 3, and her parents Grandma J and Grandpa J. Our rooms were ON the beach, 2 floors up with large balconies and kitchenettes. The weather, breezy, 75 degrees and partially cloudy. Darn near perfect by my standards!

There is something so soothing about the ocean and the sound of waves. It is universal and yet very difficult to actually put into words. I think it is a residual from our experience in the womb – the feel and sound of water. It takes us back to our roots – literally. Staying right on the shore was so wonderful and to be able to hear the ocean was spectacular. We slept like babies – well fed exhausted babies!.

Big Boy and Sweet Girl are to be married on the beach at sunset, so of course, we had to check out how it would look, the logistics of blocking off a small area of sand, how to keep the reception special but relaxed and how to manage the many children we will have in attendance. It is going to be a wonderful event with the entire family together. That doesn’t happen often enough for me.

The 2 boys reminded everyone we still needed to relax and have fun while planning a wedding. So, in between planning sessions, we managed to swim, wade, bogey board, fly kites and play badminton – which soon-to-be  6yo GS says is aptly named because he plays so “badly”. Does anyone know how to play “goodminton”?

Of course, there were the required sand castles, sand moats, sand dunes, sand towers, sand roads, sand racetracks, sand ______ (fill in the blank) built by little boys. Then the destruction and rebuilding of same over and over again. Isn’t that why God put sand on the beach?

The entire group enjoyed the sunset with snack food and drinks on the balcony. How lovely to chat, laugh, look to the future, remember the past, hug wiggly boys while surrounded by water, sand and sky.

The next morning Gramps and I had breakfast in Grandma and Grandpa J’s room followed by a long walk on the beach. We strolled holding hands with salty wind in our hair. Quite a change from the last few months in our life.

Looking back, I can see only one draw back the entire time – the wind. It whipped my hair around with a vengeance and after an hour or two I looked like a dandelion gone to seed. Pretty bad! Grandma J and I have both decided we are wearing hats for the wedding. We don’t want permanent records of our worst hair day ever!

This weekend will be one of the best memories for me. Not because it took a lot of planning – we just picked a weekend we could all go and made reservations. Not because we spent a bunch of money – didn’t cost much at all. Not because it was a big holiday – it was St. Patrick’s Day, but that was accidental. Not because we got all dressed up – wore shorts, T-shirts and flip-flops.

It will be a great memory because it involved time and family. That’s all. That’s all it takes. Time spent with the people you love, doing almost anything but preferably something fun. It seems an easy thing, yet seems to happen so seldom. I treasure every one as if it were pure gold. A moment of family time is a golden nugget as I experience it and becomes the memory I hold dearest as I age. I know, at some point, my memories will be all I have, so I gather them wisely and often. I wish the same for you, my Sweeties!