JOURNEYS -- TO THE BEACH

guest blog by Kelly Ann Libertino

This summer was a breakout year for the Kraft Family Reunion in Avalon, N.J.

Four families converged at different times, in different vehicles to fill an upside down house that looked like a flea market sneezed on the walls.

One wall held an eclectic display of art deco lime green and yellow graphic figures in dance, along with a “welcome to the beach sign” and an upside down metallic grouper fish.

Nan and Pop Kraft worked hard to pay for this beach vacation,  this treasured family time, the grandchildren were told.  College and work schedules were re-arranged, kids flown in from the Pacific Northwest and “voila”, the family mélange had arrived!

After many hugs, kisses and exclamations of “look how much you’ve grown!”  We hit the beach.
Hitting the beach, as you know involves much more then throwing on one’s bathing suit and trekking to the shoreline.  First, there were beach badges to procure.  Next, slathering on 80 SPF with cries of “is there any white showing?”  What’s wrong with a little white showing?  But, the young ones have their rituals of not looking dorky, I know.

Last minute bathroom visits, throwing water and juice packs into a small red and white cooler and grabbing beach chairs, umbrellas, and yes, even some buckets and shovels.  Whew.  Finally, are we ready?

A caravan of twenty somethings ~ grandchildren with friends, teenagers and one pre-teen later, we are on the beautiful, shell encrusted, lopsided sand to water leveled beach on the South Jersey coastline.

One sad part of the trip was the “going home” of my brother and sister in law’s dear friend to breast cancer.  But, somehow, the Lord covered them even in their mourning; as we gathered around them in their grief and shared the burden, dividing the sorrow among us all and multiplying the love.

Fortunately, for us, my brother is a gourmet cook, his therapy is cooking. Creating and cooking his way through the two nights that he was able to stay,  we ate homemade French baguettes, tomato and mozzarella salad with fresh basil, and a Mediterranean lamb that was done on the grill!

I guess it was “eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow may not come for you…” my paraphrase, of course. Is there anything better than family sharing a meal around the dining room table, the living room and the kitchen counter? (we are a big family)

The week was full of shopping at the quaint shops, celebrating birthdays, movies, boardwalk hopping and even a “ghost ship”.  Walking through a renovated REAL ship on the pier even had the adults gasping with surprise as “real life” ghosts materialized out of nowhere to swing rubber mallets on the floor…belly laughing and yells of surprise abounded. 

This trip was spectacular because we somehow managed to get all eight grandchildren ages 24 to 11, down to the beach and dressed appropriately for a “beach portrait.”

When nan and pop opened their special gift, nan promptly burst into tears as pop watched quietly with a smile on his face. Nan said, “they all look so happy!”

“Blessed is the man whose God is the Lord.”