It’s a bittersweet summer for me. I am at my most favourite place – the beach where I have spent every summer. Every single summer since I was born. But it’s my last summer here.
Just before Christmas, my Nana passed away – my last grandparent and my kids last great-grandparent. I was lucky, having grandparents well into my thirties, let alone my forties.
Hundreds of memories of my Nana and Papa come to mind as I sit at the kitchen table, a place where I sat with my grandparents for so many meals – breakfast of toast that was slightly burnt in an incredibly comforting way; lunches where Nan let me have bread and jam (and that’s all) while my Papa introduced us the delicacy that is a sauce sandwich; BBQ dinners and salty fish and chips. And family and friends – always so many crowded happily into the small house.
There’s so much about the beach house that’s tied to my memories of my Nana and Papa and for that reason alone it’s going to be so hard to say goodbye. Today my kids are in the backyard playing cricket, we’re going to the beach this afternoon and my heart is broken.
Rest in peace Nan. xx
