We took a couple of days and drove down to the Outer Banks for part of spring break. The last time we were there was in January, 2020. Little did we know at that time, it would be just a matter of weeks until life as we knew it would change for quite a while.
In many ways, life changed forever during the two years between then and now.
Life would have changed forever anyway, as the older kids became “official” adults, now with jobs, roommates and apartments but still doing their best to reach out and connect with their younger siblings and their parents regularly. The young middle school kids back in 2020 would become high school kids with a very different beginning to their high school journey in the critical 9th grade year, than their older siblings. Differences we are still working through and navigating as they are now approaching the final quarter of their sophomore year.
Our spring break, 2022, falls on a different schedule this year from many of the surrounding school districts. Normally scheduled during the week before Easter, this year it is scheduled for the week prior to that. Even as we traveled through parts of Virginia and into North Carolina, we witnessed schools operating in full gear as we headed closer and closer to the coast.
It was a little strange for sure, as spring break in years gone by typically means everyone is on spring break. Not so much this year, with less traffic to contend with and a relatively empty destination spot.
The peace and quiet we discovered was more meaningful than ever for me, if not for my teenagers who were probably hoping for a little more going on.
The first afternoon, my son and I threw a football on the nearly empty beach and dipped our feet in the frigid waters of the Atlantic. My daughters parked it on a beach towel with some sand toys and bubbles just like old times. They both eventually fell asleep.
The weather was bright and sunny but chilly and windy.
We all watched with a little fascination as a rental company was setting up a beachfront wedding for later that evening, complete with a trellis, white chairs, sound system, decorations and a lot of wind.
A Monday evening wedding in April by the ocean, in North Carolina. That’s ambitious, I thought, as a former event and wedding planner, knowing you simply cannot underestimate the possible impact of weather when planning an outdoor event. It’s a good way to save a lot of money though, holding the event on a Monday.
We made some jokes about crashing the wedding, or at least observing it from our neighboring dune, but the temperatures were dropping and our afternoon was coming to an end. Eventually, we sent our best wishes to the happy couple to-be through silent kisses on the wind and made our way back to our room to settle in for the evening.
In the early morning hours of day two, we made our way back to the water front to watch the sunrise over the Atlantic. The wedding set up from the evening before was long gone and a light fog covered the beach.
Just like Brigadoon.
What??
Brigadoon.
What’s that?
Oh, sigh.
It rained all through the second night, so we watched the Oscar winning movie: “CODA” in our hotel room after dinner. We loved the movie, even as my teenagers argued in good humor over the meaning of the title, as an acronym or a noun. My teenager with a disability honed right in on the first meaning, and my other teenager who has been studying the guitar and learning to read music honed in the second. They both connected with the themes in the movie in their own ways and for their own reasons.
**If you haven’t seen the movie, mini spoiler alert ahead.**
It turns out the title of the movie, according to the screenwriter and director Sian Heder, has a double meaning so both of them were right.
The movie resonated with me for so many reasons. (See my blog post: “Out Here on My Own” about a summer in Boston prior to my freshman year of college on the North Shore of Boston, not far from Gloucester, for starters )
However, it’s that beautiful moment when Ruby sits on the truck with her father after the choir concert and he asks her to sing. He can’t hear her, so he places his hands on her face and neck to feel the vibrations of her vocal chords. Later, he utters his only word of the entire movie and tells her to “go” as she runs back to hug her family before leaving her childhood home to attend music school in Boston.
I will never stop crying in the best way.
The storm during the night on Tuesday gave way to a beautiful, crisp Wednesday morning with puffy clouds and blue skies.
I enjoyed every moment of our last morning in the Outer Banks, visiting Manteo and having the chance to sit on a dock and watch the clouds go by, lost for a few moments in my own thoughts and reflection and incredibly grateful for the opportunity to spend a few days away.
The little town was quiet, even as a few shops were starting to make preparations for their daily opening. We stopped to speak with a local couple walking their dog. They recommended a place to stop and get coffee, if we wanted to wait for the stores to open.
Next week will bring more customers I’m sure, as there will certainly be more visitors during the traditional spring break week. I wondered about the owners and employees of these little shops and stores and how they fared through the pandemic. It must have been very difficult for so many people.
My older daughter and I were not quite ready to leave the little seaside town it all its’ serenity and beauty, even as the teenagers were chomping at the bit, more than ready to get back on the road and head back to the comforts of home & their friends.
Fair enough, I thought. I was a 15 year old too, once upon a time. Someday, they will understand the appeal of a quiet moment by the sea, to rest and rejuvenate the body & soul, “sitting on the dock of the bay.”
“I’m sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Watchin’ the tide roll away, ooh
I’m just sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Wastin’ time”
-Otis Redding/Steve Cropper