The Tides of Time: A Reunion in the Middle of a Rising Sea
Our puny attempts to deal with an encroaching ocean and the passage of time
“Let’s meet for something besides funerals,” my cousin suggested at her mother’s funeral. “We only see each other when somebody dies.”
That’s how our trips to Myrtle Beach began. Four cousins, four spouses, two siblings, an aunt, a sister-in-law, and an uncle congregate once a year for what we have dubbed the Cousin’s Family Reunion. Our parents are gone, but with this beach trip, we keep memories and family ties alive.
On our first day, the sky is a blue canopy, and a brisk breeze ruffles water into whitecaps. Lured by lapping waves and endless sun, some of us make our way to the water’s edge, dragging chairs and coolers.
Times change while memories linger
Our parents were much younger than we are now when they held beach reunions. We were children, cousins who played together in sand and water until a sinking sun relinquished its spot to a rising moon. Then, reluctantly, our parents called us inside.
