Memories

I was the only one left in the house, checking to make sure we didn't leave anything behind.  I had to do a walk through to make sure we left the house the way it should be.  I walked to the back door one last time, turned around, choked up a little, and said "Until next year...".

Seems ridiculous, I know.  It's only a beach house, right?  I was looking forward to coming back home to sleep in my own bed and use my own shower.  But it is something about a "home away from home" that pulls at the heartstrings.  For 5 days (a week in the past), we lived and breathed the ocean.  The girls giggled and laughed and played and cried.  We became comfortable, treating it as if it really was our home.  And when we have to pack up to "leave" our home, it's almost like the memories are being locked up in the house.  Of course the pictures help us to remember how much fun we had, but there's something about crossing the threshold year after year that makes those memories come flooding back.  

This year, we made the memories by ourselves.  And that is okay!  Our usual companions couldn't come with us b/c well, they went and had some more babies :)  

We look forward to the years to come when the memories we make will be different from the years before and we will look back with nostalgia and say "Until next year..."