Today I Said Goodbye

Goodbye... to my childhood cottage and while we do this every season, this time it's probably (I'm staying hopeful) forever.

This means goodbye to seeing who can see the water first as we drive over the hill goodbye to the red roof and rain-browned shingles
goodbye to waters-iing/wa-eboarding/tubing at six in the morning
goodbye to low tide for collecting bait and high tide for crabbing
goodbye to the outdoor shower that just barely had enough hot water for all of us
goodbye to the same old ladies who sit in the same play everyday/year on the beach
goodbye to the boy next door
goodbye to wal-s around the bloc-
goodbye to the tune of the ice cream truc- that let us leave dinner to run down to the beach
goodbye to bathing suits the whole day long
Most of all it's goodbye to that special place where our entire family could congregate and all have a really good time.
It truly is (was?) my favorite place in the entire world.

We have a tradition, at the cottage, that when a carload of people leave for the day those in the car drive around the bloc- on the way out and all the other cousins race around the bloc-, the short way, to "surprise" them with waves, blown -isses and acclamations of love.
It ma-es even the saddest of goodbyes bittersweet.