Beaches

Jennine loved the beach.  Her family has had a house on the NC coast since the mid-80's, so she grew up going there in the summers for years.

When I met Jennine 15 years ago and we started scrapbooking together, she immediately thought we should go to the beach for a girls' weekend, dragging all the scrapbooking stickers, papers, albums, and photographs with us.  It was my first trip with her to the beach.

In May 2006, I needed to attend a conference at the beach for work. I was expecting and not too thrilled about driving and being a few hours from home by myself.  So Jennine offered to go with me for the three days.  I was worried that she'd be bored, but she was completely satisfied.  It was at the beach. How can you be bored at the beach? she said.  In between my meetings, we ate really good food, we watched the ocean waves from our room (I don't remember actually walking on the beach, maybe we did), and she introduced me to Gray's Anatomy by way of the season finale.

While I was home with my daughter during her first year, Jennine suggested that we take the kids to the beach.  We were both flexible: I was not working, staying home with Little E, and she was staying home, homeschooling her on two kids. Such a fun week, watching her kids play with my baby, introducing the water and sand to my six month old, and seeing the pure happiness on Jennine's face at having family and friends together. (Not to mention, that she adored babies!)

The last time that I went to the beach with Jennine was September 2015.  It was a celebration of being cancer-free, being done with chemo, and almost being done with surgeries.  She spent over a week at her favorite place, while groups of friends came for three to four days at a time.  We played games, watched movies, ate yummy seafood, and just hung out. It was a wonderful time with my friend.

"Every time I stand before a beautiful beach, its waves seem to whisper to me: If you choose the simple things and find joy in nature’s simple treasures, life and living need not be so hard." -- Psyche Roxas-Mendoza

#AtoZChallenge