Cape Cod Calm- feeling the power of a long weekend filled with the smoothest peanut butter cups, paddle boarding on a still lake pond, lobster Shepard pie, lobster mac n cheese, clam chowder, oysters, grasshopper mint ice cream in a sugar cone, a sunset worthy of landscape portraits, competitive Uno with debatable rules, Kanye in the car from every era, Drake music videos on repeat after the collapse of an ottoman that bore too much weight as five adults ambitiously crammed in the TV den to witness the Celtics vs. Warriors, a sandbar beach swept away by high tide, a subsequent journey of jean shorts at risk of salty waters, and an impeccable crew that just vibed.
Not to mention my full day in Boston supported by the rallying sacrifice of a night-shift nurse for our carbonara and coffee brunch at Contessa on a fancy rooftop, cool off in the library whilst peering through a window to observe the most impressive consumption of a rotisserie chicken in a single-sitting, consolation of a young woman in the park with a tearful wail accompanied by dark thoughts, and a brief foray into the lives of two nurses commemorating their ties to the city, and to each other, through tattoos of the Boston skyline, before hustling to meet my friend at the harbor for a quick aperol before our ferry to Provincetown.
I am able to persist through hardships with the intentional inclusion of rest and indulging in life’s joys with company that heals my soul between days glued to a screen and waxing encounters about really nothing important in the grand scheme.
I can still see and appreciate beauty in both nature and humanity; the experiences that counter often projected misery in settings I am incrementally moving past, on the timeline and in the sequence I am so privileged to choose. Today I am reminded that nothing in life is permanent – not the feelings, not the experiences, not the company, and of course, not even the memories. Yet, these overwhelmingly positive imprints are the ones I choose to hold and will keep while I can. I am so glad for my happy memories, while they last.
