Summer House
A place and a feeling
There’s one place that’s always meant summer to me. Beach days, clam bakes, wiffle ball, etc. It’s also the rare instance of a place you can come back to and find everything as you left it. Sure, surrounding houses have come down and bigger houses have gone up in their stead, storms have rearranged a few rocks down at the beach, and the kids who used to parade by the front porch festooned with life jackets and tennis rackets and dogs of varying obedience now send their own kids down the same path, but the feeling is still the same.
It’s not remote, but it’s tucked away. You get cell service, but you might as well leave your phone in your room. There are only three times of day worth noting: high tide, low tide, and cocktail hour as the sun sets over the point where the river meets the sea.
Maybe it’s the magic of the word vacation or the sea air coming in open windows, but in opposition to the guardedness found in the offices and apartment buildings of the cities guests travel from, entering this house is like agreeing to the terms of service of being a good neighbor again, if only for the weekend.
It’s not a place you go to luxuriate in modern conveniences; it’s a place you go to renew the luxury of time with your loved ones as you share the simplicity of a meal or a deck of cards or just the sounds of the tide changing in the dark.
Last summer was the first in over twenty years that my family didn’t gather there, but we have a reunion on the books for July. A place like that can be taken for granted when it’s available year after year, always offering the same healing powers that you didn’t realize you needed until you’re walking along the shore with your shoes in your hand and your pants rolled up, picking up rocks to skip out over the waves.
It’s a place to preserve, and a place to share with people who matter to you, and that’s something to keep doing no matter the season, but I’m glad that this summer we’ll be back and we’ll notice everything that’s stayed the same anew.
Quick Note for NYC Residents: TOMORROW, MAY 28, is the last day to register to vote in the upcoming primary election for mayor, borough president, city council and more (these primaries matter in a one-party stronghold!). Do me a favor and double-check your registration here! What the heck is a borough president, you ask … Great question! You can find mayoral resources here, borough president resources here, and city council resources here.