a sliver of relief...

I'm at my grandparents' place in the Hamptons this weekend. This may sound very hoity-toity and rich, and while I absolutely adore it out here, my family lives in the local area, not exactly on the rich Benny strips of town. I got to go to the beach for the first time this season, and my grandparents have a cabana at this beach club that looks out onto the ocean. So we set up, hung up all the beachwood and wind chimes, pulled out the chairs and boogie boards.

And, true to all of my beginnings of summer, took a long walk on the sand, walking all the way to the end of the jetties, and then back again. I of course ollected my shells, and my mom and I had a bit of a photo shoot for fun. I love the beach. I am forever trying to come out here more often.

When I was little, I spent every summer here pretty much, and this was like my second home. Same house, same terribly ugly shag carpeting from the 70's. (Although, the rooms upstairs and the kitchen are freshly painted and redecorated. My grandfather is a semi-retired carpenter and builder, and has made it his mission to finally redo his builder-special house after like 35 years. Looks pretty chic so far, if you ask me!) So, I'm back in my old bedroom, with my grandfather's 40's music, the Lobster Inn for dinner, and a movie night. Someday, I've always told myself, I'd like to live out here for a while. All of my grandmother's family is out here in the neighboring town, and I love this house. My good Polock roots, and my outrageous, affectionate and judgemental Polack great- aunts and uncles and my grandparents. My other set of grandparents only live like a half-hour away, too. I miss it up here during the year. I tend to feel so much more comfortable and at ease around here. Well, someday, maybe...

Here's a picture of me, for fun, at the beach today that my mother took, and one of my mom that I took, respectively:

She was working on hamming it up for the camera...I thought this was a great attempt! haha...