Introduction

The older I get the more I find that memories are like the clouds over the ocean. Some parts are thick, deep, sometimes black. but mostly they are light pillows of white, travelling across the sky moving fast. Many are like wisps... thin and very quick to disappear.  The older I get the more wisps I have.  Thus the strong urge to write it down.

Speaking of grabbing memories.  I remember a very few things before I was three years old. There is a rather strong memory of playing with a dog... I believe it was my Uncle Paul's. Other than that.. pretty much a blank.  I don't remember my sister appearing during this time but she did. We've had an up and down relationship ever since.  Growing up I had more than a little envy.  She was unafraid to tackle new things and I was pretty much the opposite. I was much lazier with my head always in buried in a book.  Now we love each other much more but still, even in our dotage, agree on almost nothing.

There are memories of the years from three to six living in Coral Gables, Florida while Daddy was going to the University of Miami Law School. I can remember my first school, I can remember a man playing an accordion, my aunt and grandparents, a hurricane, the beach, playing with a friend, the kitchen in our home, the birth of my brother, being in a car accident....

Then back to Sea Cliff, New York for three years and many, many more memories. Way too many to list but most of all I remember.... happiness. Cause I was a well cared for kid and my parents loved each other and almost never fought.  More on that later.

When I was nine we moved to Cocoa Beach, Florida. The rest of my growing up time was spent living next to the ocean.  Those memories, of course, are stronger and there are thousands of them. I was a teenager during this time so now the memories are not always happy but, to my parents credit, I always felt safe but pretty much ignored. That's a biggie.

As an adult I've lived in California, Germany, Washington D.C., Georgia and Florida.  Had two marriages, one child, two stepchildren, two daughters in law, and six amazing grandchildren. Along the way, I've made good decisions, decided-not-to-decide decisions, and some really awful decisions. I've buried my parents, aunts and uncles and a cousin.  That part has been really, really hard.

Okay.  Enough of that.

This is not my first rodeo.  I've already started a handful of blogs I've abandoned for one reason or another.  I'm hoping this one will be different.  It's doesn't require monthly fees, so what killed most of my other blogs will not kill this one.  Bottom line is that I really enjoy writing and I'm over seventy so I ought to do what I enjoy because realistically there isn't that much time left. I try not to think about that too much.

I'm living directly on the ocean now.  Which is pretty much anyone's happy place.  It takes me way less than five minutes to actually bury my feet in the sand.

That's me.  That's who I'm and where I came from.  We'll see what follows.