The Best Memories

I set my toast on fire this morning. Who cares, right? Not many would, really, but it my circle, it is something worth bragging about. Hey, guess what stupid thing I did this morning! Funny, huh? Anything for a laugh. It makes for a great pick up line in a bar. Sort of like "Hey, I'm a rock star and drive a Ferrari" but instead I can say "Hey, I'm a dork and I set a piece of toast on fire this morning."

I am not writing this to tell you about my culinary misadventures. It was to talk about memories. That incident brought back one of those memories that I will probably remember all my life. We all have a few, some important, like our wedding day, the day our child was born, etc. Some stupid like the day that "someone" put Ben Gay in Uncle Bob's underwear drawer and he ran out of church grabbing his crotch and screaming in agony just as the sermon was starting. I never did that to my Uncle Bob, no really, it is just an example, but you get the idea.

My "Smoke on the Toaster" incident brought back an old college memory out of the dusty old attic of memories and brought me a smile. A roommate of mine in college was more interested in reading the newspaper one day than paying attention to her breakfast. When I walked into the kitchen, her Pop Tart was in the toaster and on fire. "Jen (not her real name) your Pop Tart is on fire." She just brushed it off without a glance. The flames spread and the room started filling up with smoke. "Jen, your Pop Tart is on fire!" This time she looked to see the flames shooting out of the top of the toaster and rescued the remains of the Pop Tart. Word of advise: if a toaster is on sale for $.25 at a yard sale, there is a reason.

Some memories are notable enough to stay with us forever. This one was based on the humor of the situation. One of my favorites carries a significant amount of importance to me for far more profound reasons.

A few years ago we had gone on vacation to Ocean City, MD. We were told by numerous people that this was the beach to go to and heard long stories about how wonderful it was. Unfortunately our experience was far from what we were promised. It was crowded, overrun with teenagers and young adults looking for a party, and lined by rows and rows of tacky high rises that spoil the ambient beauty of the shoreline. We did have fun on the vacation, but it was not the kind of beach that we would return to in the future.

Despite our disappointment in the beach itself, it did leave me with one of those memories that I will never forget. We had a very nice condo with a balcony overlooking the beach. One very nice evening we had just come in from swimming and my husband stripped off my son's swim trunks and hung them out to dry. My son had been running around on the porch with nothing but a towel on. I just sat on a lounge chair to enjoy the evening and dry off. It had been sunny all day and the temperature was still pleasant. The ocean breeze was just perfect. He was scanning the road for signs of the ice cream truck and I was watching on the horizon for dolphins. Age certainly makes for different ideas about what is an exciting siting.

After some time, I wondered if he may have grown tired of sitting wrapped in nothing but a towel and asked if he wanted to do something else.


"Do you want to go take a bath?"
"No."


"Do you want to get dressed and walk on the beach?"
"No."


"How about go look for the ice cream truck?"
"No."


"What do you want to do?"
"Just sit here on Mommy's lap."


And so we sat there, watching the ocean and listening to the waves crash against the shore. That memory will stay with me forever. I can still hear the sea gulls calling out and smell the salt in the air when I think back to that day. I never felt more at peace than I did at that moment. I never felt more important either.