Queen of the Beach: August 2010

Well, the group get together at Anderson Island is in the books. Once again, it was a great weekend. It continues to amaze me that no matter when we book this weekend, well in advance, the weather always seems to cooperate. It was beautiful.
The group was missing a friend this year as Pam had other family

obligati

ons. She was sincerely missed by all of us. However, for the first time is several years Monica was able to make it and I had such a great time catching up with her and hearing about her great family and life.
For the most part, this group of friends first met in Kindergarten when the most important thing in life was finding that link of chain for hopscotch that was that perfect combination of weight and length to always make it into the square. From then on, to varying degrees, we were there for each other during good times and bad. Pam, Monica, Susie and Wendy were in Girl Scouts and those experiences were not shared by the rest of us but in some ways I feel they were as the stories have been told and retold over the years with enhancement, I'm sure. On the other hand, we are all able to share stories of the earthquake in 4th grade, the teachers, good and bad, our first kiss, first love, marriage, kids, (some of us grand kids), health and death of parents and loved ones. It all adds up to a lifetime of memories that this once a year gathering brings to light for all of us to share.

Of course, Queen of the Beach that I am, I love being at the beach. The sounds of sea birds in the air and in the

water, the smell of the salt water in the air, the sand between the toes and the long walks on the beach are all comforting to me, reminiscent of a much simpler time in our lives. This year, the tide cooperated for hours of walking on the beach, looking for agates and other

treasures. We did find the most interesting jellyfish on the beach which actually looked like it had just eaten a big fish! And, while I may not have found the most agates, I believe I did find the largest one. The Queen rules.

Fittingly, as the last day drew to a close, our "real" lives coming back to the forefront, The Beach offered up its final goodbye, a beautiful sunset, a pensive fire, and the kind of love among friends I feel so fortunate to be able to experience. I feel that friendships like these have an importance place in my life, shaping who I was, who am and who I will always be.