Making Memories

There is nothing better than to see those you love with a smile on their face. During the past couple of weeks, I was given the wonderful opportunity to see endless smiles and hear contagious laughter. A long awaited road trip brought happiness to all of us, but watching my mother and son have fun was the best part of all.

We traveled over 5000 miles and enjoyed every moment of it. There was so much beauty to be seen, from rolling hills of forests and green pastures, to sky scrapers and the ocean. We had an amazing time.

It had been the first time in 24 years that I had seen the ocean. It was stunning! However, it was not as easy to get into the water as I had remembered. We tried, but our timing was not fit for newbies. The tide was coming in and no matter how much we tried to push through the waves, they wouldn’t let us in.

At one point, my mother decided to let her inner child out and ran toward the water. A wave instantly knocked her down. My son and I helped her to stand, as we all laughed over what had just happened. As soon as she was standing, another wave hit and knocked me down. We weren’t exactly dressed for swimming, but we sure got soaked! We re-learned how nasty ocean water tastes and smelled like fishermen, but we sure had a good time.

One of my favorite memories from the trip, is a simple one. We were searching the shore for sea shells. My mother found one and bent down to rinse it off. As soon as her hand touched the water, a big wave came up and hit her directly on the side of her face. She stood upright, and was laughing hysterically. Her smile and laughter was similar to that of a child’s. It was a moment that I can still see vividly in my mind. Her facial expression and reaction was that of pure happiness. To see her happy, means the world to me. I loved it!

It’s moments like those that remain in our memory. I am certain that years down the road, that moment will still be fresh in my mind. My mother will always be with me.

My son got to see NYC, which he’s wanted to see for years. He also got to experience the ocean for the first time. He was hesitant to get in at first. Then, he caught sight of a girl and off he went! Boys will be boys. Although his motivation came from a girl, I was highly impressed by his bravery. He was bouncing around in the ocean as if he had been out there several times before. One would never know that it was his first time. He smiled, a lot. He was so happy and had such a great time out there.

It was a long awaited trip, but the timing could not have been better. Everything went perfectly! The weather was terrific; sunny and warm. The beach wasn’t crowded at all, and the traffic was great in all 16 states we traveled through. We ended the trip with no sad stories to tell. Best of all, we made many, many wonderful memories.

Last year I realized just how short life is. One lesson I learned, was that if you have plans, don’t put them off. Don’t let opportunities pass you by, for they won’t last forever. Now is the time, as now is the only time that is guaranteed.