Lucy Reflects

A bedtime story by Lucy.

A gentle breeze rattles the old curved windows and the creaking floor whispers stories of days past in the Historic Riverboat House. I wonder what stories these 115-year-old walls would tell if they could talk.

I hear the sucking of an empty bottle as three little girls’ voices quietly chatter after bedtime. They think I can’t hear them, I am two feet away. I was on bedtime duty and it was the first night of our much-anticipated family beach week. But the kids – the kids rule the roost this week. Anytime an adult plays a song on Alexa, it’s immediately overruled by a high-pitched voice yelling “Alexa, play Radioactive by Imagine Dragons.”

One whimpers for cuddles, another says she’s “starving,” and the third wiggles at a stubborn loose tooth.

I rock quietly in a chair and count the adults asleep – all of them but me. Three little girls are wide awake – too excited to jump more waves, get a glimpse of the boardwalk from their uncle’s shoulders, and immerse themselves in sand and ice cream cones.

An hour passes, one is asleep, another hour and a second girl dozes off. But one still sips on her empty bottle. What’s it like for a child in this seemingly magical place? They lay on the window benches where the light shines through colorful stained-glass windows and projects a kaleidoscope on the ceiling. Their minds wander as they explore the nooks and secret places just begging for a game of hide and seek.

“Why won’t they sleep?” because their imagination is running wild. They can’t bear to lose thought of all the memories to come, the anticipation is too much and to fall asleep means they might lose sight of it all.

I put my own frustration in check, as we enter the third hour. I find a pen and paper. I remember being a young girl at the beach with my aunts and uncles and know exactly how these girls felt. Don’t go to sleep because you’re sure to miss something. Quietly sneak down the stairs just to get a glimpse of what happens at night in Ocean City, NJ. Tip-toe out to the porch and listen in on the conversations adults have when you’re not around and when you get caught, just tell them you are thirsty for a glass of water.

There are 21 people living in the Historic Riverboat Mansion for the week – my parents, their kids and their kids. And even though sometimes moments are chaotic a la a National Lampoon’s vacation, you can almost see the memories forming in their little noggins. And it’s one of the best feelings in the world.

I hear tiny snores. Finally!

As I lift myself from the chair and tiptoe to the door to enjoy my own freedom. I hear a little voice whisper “I have to go potty.”

We love to hear from you, tell us about your family vacations!