Celebrating Mother’s Day, or national day of recognizing all the big and little things that keep not only the house but the nation from falling apart, will be notable not only for the fresh flowers but hopefully the lack of the phone ringing off the hook.

This is the time of year on the Vineyard when your social calendar starts to fill up with people from out of town; friends, family and friends of family you haven’t seen in years and that one kid whose father knew your father, have all made up their minds to come and visit. The caller ID reads like binary, full of 0s and 1s from countries we don’t even have diplomatic relations with, never mind a family bloodline.

Don’t get me wrong, it is wonderful to see the people you miss. And summer weekends feel like a rolling celebration of all of life’s miracles (like mosquitoes). And you get to this point where the steady stream of friends coming and going and cooking and shopping and picking them up to the beach almost runs on autopilot. And then it stops. For some reason you are left with one weekend with no guests.

I still sit on the porch. I sit where I would if the other chairs were occupied. I take in the silence. Then I wonder why I didn’t book anyone for that weekend, and wish I had.

Sharing the life makes living it so much more enjoyable.

See you soon!
E.