We reclaim the bruised years of the past where on a beach trip an ugly argument could have upended the vacation. The children did not know what they were meant to do. Every other family was out on the beach but in their hotel room the parents were feuding over things they did not understand. They wanted to be there by the water too - wasn't that why they were here. They were ready in their swim wear, had put on their sunscreen and had their beach toys in the tote. Today supposed to be a fun day - the sun was pleasant but not hot. They could hear the loud squeals of the children running back and forth from the waves that crashed down at the shore. They longed to be there too - make new friends, build sand castles, chase after crabs, collect sea-shells.
Maybe their father would teach them to use the surf-board on this trip. He was always trying to teach them something new - they loved that. After an hour, he took them out to the water. Their mother said she would not go with them - it was unclear what her plans were they was eager for the beach, too eager to spend more time fretting about the conflict between their parents that never ended. Those memories can resurface by the water, at the intersection near the hotel where they lived that time, the place where they ate lunch in sullen silence. And those memories need to be washed away with new ones of two people at peace with each other. Happy to be in the water and get washed over by big waves over and over until everything left clean and new.
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