Sense Memory

So many, many, many of my best memories are from visits to the ocean. Earliest memory is driving to Florida to spend Christmas with my mother’s family. My mother and sister in the front seat; me shoving for space between my brothers in the back seat. The first thing you would notice is the scent…. The salty, warm, sunlit smell rushing in the car windows. Unmistakable.

Later, visits with my mom and sister to Kiawah Island. Just girls, eating, laughing, talking. Free. The quality of light. The sun. The seagulls. We never ran out of things to say.

A visit with old friends. A trove of unspoiled sand dollars. Hot cups of coffee at sunrise on the beach.

Then more family, my children, husband, cousins, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews. Sadness that some couldn’t be there. Grateful for the beautiful chaos of those that could. 

More visits with my children and husband, too numerous to count, full of laughter, warmth, games, walks, togetherness. Boys playing chess. Bike rides. Exploring. Dragonflies. Peace.

Then back with my husband, children, and their significant others, so significant, so thankful they trusted us to be us. Learning the new normal. Surprisingly easy.

A joyful reunion with my two best friends. Perfect synchronicity even after decades. Dolphins. Sandpipers.

 Then back with my husband, children, their significant others and their children. Another generation. Joy that increases with every year. Napping, reading, taking walks, bicycling, games, cooking, eating, laughing. Too perfect.

It makes me wonder how much of what we value in memory is tied to specific places. So much of life comes from the ocean. Yes, that’s part of it. Sense memory by now. But that’s not all. Now, no beach for a year and a half. Do I miss it? Of course. But what I really miss are the people. The faces of those memories. The faces.

OLIVE, AGAIN- APRIL 2021 BOOK SELECTION

 Olive, Again by author Elizabeth Strout revisits the now iconic character of Olive. We first met Olive in Strout’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, Olive Kitteredge. Cranky, self-obsessed and yet strangely endearing, Olive inhabits every corner of the fictional, small Maine town of Crosby.

As with the first novel, Strout creates characters alive with startling clarity. Everyday lives are fascinating as Stroud explores all the complexities and intricacies of the human condition. Olive, in some way touches each life, if only briefly. As we observe Olive aging, we see her soften somewhat; still prickly but starting to question herself, her life and her choices. Olive, as contradictory as always, is rich reading. This is a novel to savor.

Recommend.