In a few weeks we'll be heading to Maine for vacation . We've rented a house in the Camden area. I know the area a little, having grown up just a couple of hours away, but if anyone out there has a favorite memory of the place or a suggestion for an activity, we would love to hear it.
The house we are renting is big-big enough that several extended family members and friends are planning on cycling through during the week. It's an experiment for us. If it goes well, we are hoping to do it once a year. If it doesn't, we'll do our own thing from now on. We are not anti-social, by any means, but my husband and I are alike in that we both require a moderate amount of alone time. I get mine by getting up earlier in the morning. He gets his by staying up later at night. I'm wondering how the chaos of people coming and going will jive with our expectation of a relaxing week on the coast.
On the one hand, we've co-imagined clam bakes on the beach, early morning kayak trips, and hanging out on the porch with our friends and family. My imagination has added the sound track from Big Chill and midnight margarita parties.
On the other hand, it's occurred to me that there's a good amount of work that goes into entertaining people. Now, switch out the people on a regular basis, and haven't you just multiplied the work load? This is not something that would occur to BigB because, as a traditionalist in his mid-fifties, his expectation is that the women will get together and figure it all out and tell him what needs to go on the grill. Planning, shopping, and cleaning don't figure in his day-to-day plans. On the odd occasion where they do, it goes something like this:
I'm hungry. Is anybody else hungry? I think I'll order a pizza. Does anybody else want pizza?
BigB keeps it real. I think I'll take a page out of his book this year and just go with the flow. We'll see what happens.
