Beach Stories

At night, after her father reads her books, she finds me and says, I'm ready for my beach story now. These nights, before her lullaby, I make up a story about visiting a beach. Sometimes the beach is by the sea; sometimes, a lake we love in Vermont; and sometimes, it is an imaginary island. The beach stories are simple. They are about picnics, boardwalks, bicycles, rowboats, sand, and swimming. Usually, I invite family and friends into our story and so for a little while, it feels like we're all together again.

Most of the time, we are real and honest and present, and now, for a little while every night, we are on a beach somewhere, eating watermelon and peanut butter sandwiches.