Friends at the Beach House

Besides watching Charlie pick up his red boogie board and walk out into the waves, lie down on it and turn around to catch a wave—last year he hadn’t quite gotten the knack of this—-and the general benefits of being at the beach (and I say this as a person who, until knowing Jim, had zero desire to swim in the ocean), a “side benefit” of vacationing herer is that it makes it possible for us to be social and, in particular, to do something that we rarely/never do at home: Entertain guests.

Tuesday friends came with their son who’s Charlie’s age; Thursday another friend came with her two sons (and Charlie communicated his distress at their leaving wordlessly, and sadly). From Friday afternoon till Monday morning our friend from Philadelphia has been visiting (and kindly keeping us supplied with morning bagels and orange juice). Another friend stopped by late Sunday night and Charlie (he’s seen this friend once) was smiles on the couch, smiles slumping in the chair by the TV while the Phillies were on playing the Padres, and still smiles lying in his bed with several blankets and assorted items heaped around, as we grown-ups talked below.

During the “regular” year, when school is in session for all three of us, much as we’d like to have friends over and hold parties and open the door for guests, it’s really not easy. After a full week of getting everyone up and onto the bus or off to work or school with the appropriate items packed into different bags (and lunch in Charlie’s case), and then teaching and working, and getting Charlie to speech therapy and swimming and grocery stores and homework and practicing piano and cello and dust-busting our apartment and laundry and grading and, well, you get the picture—-on the weekends, we’re all just kind of relieved to do the proverbial “hanging.” But a beach house, now, this makes things simpler. There’s an obvious and very fun activity to do—getting out on the sand and in the waves—-seafood is automatically on the menu and somehow the background plash of ocean waves and the air, make entertaining at the beach not only possible, but part of the package.

And Charlie likes having guests, likes having other people around. It can be kind of hectic, chatting and pulling out plates and slicing tomatoes for salad, and always having one ear attuned to where Charlie is and what he is doing; I’m always ready to say “excuse me, I have to check on Charlie.”

Generally he’s been just pretty good and pleased, and glad to be among friends.