sailingincurrent:

whatshouldsailorscallme:

and they’re like

all day errr day

Recently I went to a family oriented birthday party, of which I have attended each year since I was as little as I can remember. A family friend who has now turned 19, whom I grew up with during the summer. Most of my relatives that I only see during the summer were there. We have all grown up, I’m the last one of the generation, the only one under 18, with one year left to go. And it really is interesting to see the new branch emerging from the light. I can remember attending the party when I was 5 years old, with my cousins being 6 and 8, my brother 11, and the family friends 7 and 12, and this is leaving out the family friends’ relatives who were a little older than all of us. Well, its truly an experience to go to this little house in Lavallette each year, slowly growing up, getting slightly taller, maturing more. This thought really began when I saw the relatives of my family friends, they were the ones a few years older than my relatives and my brother, a couple came with kids (about 2-7 years old, about 7 of them) and one of them just married. There was big pool in the back, it seemed endlessly deep way back then, and now, i can touch the bottom and have my eyes peer above the water. We had the best times in that pool, especially on that day, the birthday that is. We enjoyed the attention from all the parents gathering around. We all acted cute doing whatever we did. And we made so many memories. I can think of so many things that I did with my cousins and friends down the shore that I don’t think I could live without to this date. We would make up our own games, especially in the pool, and play them for hours until the little fingertips we had pruned up into tiny wrinkles. There is honestly so much that I can list but I’m not going to because it would take a whole day to write about them all. but getting back to my point. It used to be us in the hot tub and pool laughing and playing all day and night, but when that birthday approaches, we don’t go in anymore. Half of us don’t even come each year. We all have bigger things to do now. We have grown up. As I was saying, I’m the youngest of the group at 17, so there isn’t much you can do except talk to the grownups who used to watch you playing around in the pool, and talk to them about adult things, and hear things you shouldn’t hear because you are still a kid ;). Anyways. I was sitting on a little beach chair behind the pool near the pool house cabin. And I see a group of screaming little kids stampeding into the backyard. Their parents still very young, being the generation above us, with the most precious human beings (but aren’t they all precious). Anyways, the kids eager to jump into the pool, adjusting their swimmies, waiting for all the adults to watch them splash in for the first time. All of the parallels line up between the generations. I can’t help but smile when I think about how the kids will experience the same fun and perform the same activities that I did back then. Sure they will have new adventures to unfold, and new ways of exploring their interests, but it is the journey that matters. From the summers I have had with my cousins and such, I have learned so much about myself, and I have formed the values that I still hold myself to today. I haven’t strayed one bit, although I do have to admit, there has been questioning.

But in conclusion, I’m so glad that I saw what I did the other day. Watching another generation walk into the spotlight, ready to take on life at its prime (and i’m not saying that life isn’t great all the way). I successfully completely my leg of the journey, and it’s time for the others to take my spot. It’s a weird feeling, but it is gratifying.

But just do me a favor if you are reading this. Take the time to reflect back on the things you did as a child and how it influenced the person you are today. Think of all the great things you accomplished by yourself or with the people close to you, and even though that stage might be over, its another person’s turn to have the joys that you had. And it is time for me and my current generation to take on the next leg of life, and have the generation in front of us look down at us and remember the fond memories.