You'll always be "beach folk" to me.

To My Sweet Sister-in-law ...

Years ago, when our home was burglarized and our video camera and all its contents were stolen, the clips of our babies were still fresh on the tape. Leaving us with just memories of how The Big One as a baby sounded when he cackled so hard he tipped backward out of his newly-learned sitting position. Or my mom introducing The Newborn Short One to the camera from our hospital room. Or The Tall One's century-old grandfather speaking of his "life and times" shortly before his grandfather's death. All gone. But, vivid as ever in my mind. Still today.

So, in these last days when we've seen Crystal Beach -- your home away from home whether your home was a car ride or a plane ride or another country away -- go from neighborhoods of family beach cabins and "The World's Best Grocery Store" to a sad place, a mostly gone place, I am reminded daily of these things of the blue then green cabin on Seadrift:

• Wicker furniture.
• Our first real "girl talk" about love and relationships (specifically MY love for The Tall One) on that wicker couch.
• Fay's cartoons on the fridge.
• The "maid service" wall hanging. "If no one answers, do it yourself."
• Mosquitos.
• Dot's treat bowl.
• The time you redecorated and so cleverly re-dyed all the towels and bathmats instead of buying new ones to match. And we didn't even turn pink when we used them.
• Hating outdoor showers.
• Learning to love outdoor showers.
• Loads and loads of laundry.
• Finding a better way to do things, haul things, cook things, each time we gathered together.
• The toy dryer w/ ironing board that The Short One used to "wash" his special blanket.
• That BLASTED toy piano. Is it wrong that I'm secretly glad it's gone?
• Sea glass.

• Shark teeth.
• Your lovely mattress stripe linens. It looked just like a beach in your room.
• The coolness of your a/c on the hottest of days.
• Funny Daddy's chair.

• Mosquitos.
• Fire ants.
• The always sweet-smelling soaps in the showers that the girls brought from home.
• You telling your girls; and me, later, telling my boys "HOLD ONTO THAT RAIL!!" whether they were going or coming on the stairs.
• Max Tater.
• Powdered donuts on the patio for The Short One's July birthday.
• Pink Barbie car.
• Fireworks!
• Weenie soup.
• White Jeep.
• Black Jeep.
• Big Black Jeep.

• The day bed w/ all those mattresses just like The Princess and the Pea.
• Good books.
• "Remember THEEEEESE??"
• All the condiments in the fridge w/ their labeled lids.
• The pink curtains on the pantry.
• The door that wouldn't close right. And the day Grandpa finally forced it into closing right.
• Crab nachos. Oh, the agony of losing Crab nachos.
• A new baby pool every year. And how it became a torture chamber for fish.
• Tropical Storm Allison. We rode that one out, didn't we? And hardly had a drop of rain during "The Storm of the Century."
• Nursing baby boys on rainy beachy afternoons.
• That damn septic tank.
• Mosquitos.
• Ski jets.
• Freshly mowed grass.
• "The toilet paper should only be THIS LONG." (Mean ol' Aunt Lisa.)
• Glynnis.
• Aquamarine.
• The best grocery store in the whole wide world.
• Flip flop stores.
• Click click chairs.
• Waterslides.
• Campout poppers.
• Golf carts.
• Ice cream truck!!
• "We can GENERATE some trash!!"
• The time the "Maxwell House" family came to visit and brought that yummy pimiento cheese. With pecans in it!!

• Lice!!
• Porch swings.
• Shells on ropes.
• Christmas lights.
• The time Max bit the painter's pregnant girlfriend.
• Folding laundry on the downstairs picnic table.
• Laundry on the line.
• Rusty clothespins.
• Footsteps overhead.
• Babies in portable cribs.
• The feel of bare feet atop sandy plywood floors.
• The ferry.
• Smell of cleaning before leaving.
• Watching Lance win 2,3,4,5,6,7 Tour de France titles.
• The NOAA weather radio on the wall. Did it say "Cutty Sark?"
• "No bits in the dishwater, please."
• Cheese dip.
• Ranch dressing.
• Mosquitos.
• Boudain.
• Menu planning.
• Church.
• "Rita 'rator."
• Puzzles. (Especially the one w/ the colored thread and 101 Dalmations.)
• Crab balls.
• Popsicles in red mesh bag.
• Finding Popsicle detritus all. week. long.
• Seaweed salad.
• Painting downstairs posts.
• Rewiring downstairs lights.
• Cleaning out the shed. Every. day.
• Mary across the street.
• Best radio station in the world. 94.7. Til it changed and isn't anymore.
• "CARR" in red letters.
• Hanging the Aggie flag.
• Your spent your honeymoon there.
• Your sister spent her honeymoon there.
• "Name that fish" fish frys.
• That mean ol' Swede finally GOT HIS JUST TREATMENT!! That is so wrong of me. Pray for me.
• Mosquitos.
• A never-failing, never-flagging, porch-light-on, welcome-mat-out, gracious- to-a-fault host and hostess.
• Always.
• This is just a start.
• We'll make more memories.
• Because you know I love the beach.
• And you know we love you.
• And we can't believe she's gone.
• For now.