Soothing A Bruised Soul

Sunday June 9, 2013
Morning Clouds
Sun Breaking Through

 Last night two of my sisters, their husbands and my niece came by for a visit.  They stayed for dinner.  We don't get to see each other that often.  It reminded me of the weekly Sunday dinners we had when we were younger.  Nice memories.

I have been struggling with severe mind turbulence for the past few days.   Writing helps sort through my thoughts, as does talking things over with Ross.  He reminds me of all the ways that I am a good person.   That is a soothing salve for the tender bruises that I seem so intent on inflicting upon my soul.

The beach usually helps to quiet our minds.
But obviously, hundreds of others had the same idea.

The life guard who mans this stations is known as Captain America.  Apparently,  he has been working this same location for a lot of years.

Belmar was also having their annual Seafood Festival today.

This obviously was not the right place to find peace and quiet, but it certainly was a distraction.

Today I Will Be Waiting Outside

Friday, June 7, 2013
Heavy Rainy Day
Tropical Storm Andrea, the first of the season.

 To celebrate I stayed in my PJ’s all day.

 Andrea was a calm steady lady.  She quietly weeped incessantly, without a hint of bluster.

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Tropical Storm Andrea left town.
Blue Skies Today.

Today my brother and three sisters are gathering to visit our other brother.  They haven’t seen Adam  in about four years.

I suppose you could say this must be a special occasion.  Two of my sisters are traveling, one from the north and one from the south.

I remember another time when I had not seen Adam in a very long time.  My mother would visit him as often as she could.  She never learned to drive so usually my other brother or younger sister would take her.  She would hint to me that she would like to see him, but she would never come out and ask me.
One time I said I would take her.  I told her that she could visit as long as she wanted to.  I would wait in the car until she was ready to go.
His residence was nestled in a rural farm like setting.   I thought he should be happy living there.
After I parked the car, my Mom glanced over at me.  I said, “Take your time.”  I watched as she walked up to the front door.  She turned around and looked at me once again.  I waved.  She pressed the bell.

I’m not sure what made me change my mind.  Perhaps it was the beauty and tranquility of the surroundings which brought peace and resolution to my conflicted thoughts and feelings.
I called out to my Mom to wait for me.  He met us in the dining hall.  He was surprised to see me.  It was an emotional reunion for both of us.

The last time I saw Adam was at my mother’s funeral.  We did not speak.  We did not sit near each other in the church.

During the procession out of the church, as we followed behind the casket, I could hear my brother crying.  I turned around and went up to him and we hung onto each other.  He told me he was sorry.
I wondered what he meant.  Was he sorry that we lost our mom?  Was he sorry that we lost each other? But I really knew that he meant that he was just sorry.  And at that moment so was I.

Today my brother and sisters are gathering to visit Adam.  I told them to take their time and that I would be waiting outside.

A Visit to The Sixth Happiest Seaside Town in America Rowayton Connecticut

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

It has been 18 months since Joe passed away.

A part of me feels as though Joe is just only away.  It is, I’m sure, partly an indulged fantasy, but mostly it is a coping mechanism.

Escaping is another coping method, especially when it's the fifth of the month.  Those anniversaries are cold stark reminders.  And no matter how hard I try, I cannot reach into a photo and touch him.

The weather is going to be splendid, a good day to escape to some other place.
The "10 Happiest Seaside" towns were listed in the June issue of Coastal Living magazine.  Listed at number six was Rowayton, Connecticut.  Since that town is the closest one to where we live, a 2-1/2 hour drive, we decided to check out this happy place.

The following is a blurb about Rowayton taken from the magazine's website:
"This picturesque New England village has lured artists for centuries. It's like Nantucket or Martha's Vineyard, say locals (4,000 call it home), but without the swell of tourists."

The print magazine was a little more detailed in its description of the "town" calling it "...straight out of a Norman Rockwell illustration."

I skimmed over the part about it being "sophisticated" and  "...one of the most expensive spots in the state (as well as in the nation)."

We got an early start.  I think we were out of the house by 9:00.   Unfortunately, the route to get there is not very scenic.  It is highway all the way.

About half way there we stopped for breakfast at a deserted strip mall restaurant called the Bus Stop Cafe in Carteret, NJ.  I was a little hesitant, but it turned out to be a cute place and the food was good.






















The drive included a view of the New York City Skyline,

 and a crossing over the George Washington Bridge.

At the crossing over the Henry Hudson Bridge we saw this sign. I didn't understand what this meant. I googled and found out that if you don't have an EZ pass, a picture will be taken of your license plate and you will receive a bill for the toll.   I wonder how many pay those toll bills?

We have arrived

As soon as we entered the "town" we immediately understood the meaning of exclusivity.  It is a small town, but certainly not welcoming.  There were "No Parking" signs on most of the streets.  In fact most of the streets were designated as private, no entry.  I observed the faces of the people walking around. I saw business people, women walk/jogging with baby strollers, dog walkers and constructions workers.  There were no smiles or friendly waves.  I guess I would say the looks we were getting were more of a suspicious nature.  I suppose our Jersey plates may have had something to do with that.

The village of Rowayton sits at the mouth of Connecticut's Five Mile River.
As we drove around we found a park.  The gate was open.  We did not see any signs to indicate that it was not open to the public, so we entered and parked the car.  I must say it was a pretty spot.  As we got out of the car, though, we were hailed down by a woman.  I waited by the car while Ross talked to her.  As it turned out, we were informed by this woman that we were in a members only swim club.   Quick thinking Ross told the woman that we were looking into moving into the community and just wanted to see what the town had to offer.   She agreed to let us walk around a little and I took some pictures.  Funny thing, the woman did not let us out of her sight the whole time.  It was quite uncomfortable.

Darn, and I brought my bikini too.


After I had enough of being monitored, we headed back to the car.  Ross, because that's the way he is, went over to the woman and schmoozed a little with her.  So, it turned out that she didn't live in Rowayton.  In fact she told us that Rowayton wasn't even a town.  It was a section in the town of Norwalk.  She also snidely said that the Rowatonians like to think that they are not living in Norwalk.  When I asked her who was eligible to join the swim club she spouted out that only those living in zip code 06853 could belong.
Now we really did not have a chance to talk to anyone else in the town.  And this woman actually warmed up to us and told us she was a school librarian, living in Norwalk, not in 06853, and that she was just picking up a little extra money by filling in for someone that day.

We also learned that Rowayton was severely hit by hurricane Sandy.  A lot of homes and businesses were affected. With that in mind and the fact that we did not have an opportunity to talk to anyone else in the town,  I will have to hold off judgment as to whether it is a most happy place or not.

Oh, we did stop at the local market, and there was parking on the street in front of the store. We had lunch on the back porch.

 

I must say that made me quite happy!