I've just returned from an awesome respite!
There is nothing like the right company to get your spirits back.
This is my granddaughter, who turned 2 in late June.
She came to visit Grammy on "Grammy's Favorite Island".
Grammy was there to rest.
...And on the second week, out came the Respite Reserves!
Three wonderful women--
my daughter, my granddaughter,
and a dear friend we've known
since she was a college student in the area
30 years ago.
(A second mother to my daughter, a surrogate sister to me,
and dearest Auntie Chelle to Ingrid.)
They each took such good care of my heart and soul.
We had no stroller, but we had good shoes.
No toys, but Mother Nature was all around us.
No electricity, but lots of books--
and a solar panel that lit a bulb or two in each of four rooms.
Beautiful sunsets, and myriad stars on the porch at night.
While the lighthouse light went round and round.
Every morning called us to go outside
to see the world.
When our feet got tired,
we sat down and sang songs or told stories.
We found cool stuff to look at in the woods,
and made little houses out of what we found, for the fairies.
We fed the ducks every day.
Some would get right on your lap, if you let them.
There was a shop down the road
that had different ducks to visit.
A little wardrobe adjustment was necessary
every day or so.
Some hikes took us out to the rocks
at the back side of the island.
It was so pretty there, you sometimes
felt like dancing.
The waves hit the rocks in exciting and beautiful ways.
Splash!! Boom!!!
"Here comes another one, Grammy!"
This little pond on the rocks tasted salty!
And it was cool refreshment for piggy toes.
Every night, we went out to the porch
to watch the sunset over the ocean.
(You can do that in New England if you are on an island!)
Ingrid would sit with us for 20 minutes or so,
just watching.
Then after bath, it was back to the porch to look at the stars.
Snuggled into jammies and her fleece sleeping bag,
she could watch forever--quiet, rapt, amazed.
"So many stars, Mama!"
No wonder I am feeling so happy and refreshed.
Thank you, wonderful women!
I love you all so much.
Thank you, Monhegan Island,
...my heart's home.
