Wish I Were Here

Artist Marcia Chaves
Wish I Were Here
Oil, 24x36
For as long as I can remember, my family spent summer vacation at Nags Head North Carolina, not in the sleek condos that line the beach today, but in the rustic cottages of an earlier vintage, sometimes called the “Unpainted Aristocracy” of the historic district. This old beachfront cottage reminds me of past vacations when circumstances allowed for extended family vacations, when generations came together to enjoy the leisure of beach time - grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and friends, all under the same roof. Today many scheduling obstacles, work, school, distance, all combine to make these precious gatherings impossible. Now with an autumn chill in the air, I relax in my Falmouth kitchen and catch a glimpse of the waves, surfers and bathers via the OBX webcam, and recall these happy memories and with a sigh, think “...wish I were here.”