Our Relatives Want to Visit Us Because We Live by the Sea

My friends, Edward and Grace, lived near the seaside. Many summers ago, the couple attended a christening where Edward was to be the godfather. After the ceremony at the village church, as was customary, there was a lively celebration. That evening, they met Edward’s grandparents. Throughout the gathering, these old folks could hardly contain their delight that their grandson had such a wonderful godparent. In their eyes, Edward was a splendid fellow, and they felt proud to be connected to him.

What especially tickled their fancy was that Grace and her husband made their home by the sea.

“What a marvelous godparent!” Grandmother could hardly have been happier. “And he lives by the seasidehow lovely! Now theres someone to visit by the sea, without having to rent anywhere. Family is such a blessing. Edward, how fortunate we are to be kin!”

Who would have thought Grandmother would take her own words so literally? Only a few weeks on, she turned up for a visit. However, Edward had first received a call from the childs father, Michael, inquiring whether his parents might come and stay for three or four nights. After some discussion at home, Grace and her husband agreed to host them; it seemed inhospitable to refuse. It was the height of summer, work kept both Edward and Grace busy all day, and guests were rather inconvenient. Grace even had to take time off to make the visitors comfortable.

They arrived, settled in for a stay, soaked up the sunshine on the beach, and eventually, with grateful smiles, packed up and went on their way.

Given that Grace and Edward owned only a modest two-bed flat, Grace resolved to decline any further visits should the family take it upon themselves to ‘delight them’ with their presence again. When their close friends or godchild came by, it was always a joy, but the parents were, frankly, a burdenespecially at the height of summer, when saving a bit of money for the coming winter was important.

After hearing of all this, I was left rather puzzled. The parents, both well past sixty, had long reared children and grandchildren. Had they decided, perhaps, to take advantage of their family ties, treating my friends home like a seaside boarding house gratis?

I suspect so, and whats moreGrandmother promised they would return againYet, as the summer ebbed away and chill breezes returned, Edward received a neatly penned postcardGrandmothers scrawled hand trailing sand inside the envelope. It read: How lovely it was to be by the sea, and how lucky we are to have family who open their hearts (and roof)thank you for truly making us feel at home. Weve told all our friends: having kin at the coast is a blessing. Hope we never wear out our welcome.

Grace smiled, reading it over Edwards shoulder. To her surprise, she felt not exasperation, but a faint warmth. Maybe, she thought, these little invasions were part and parcel of being a godparent, and of family. For what is summer by the sea if not for being a haven, sometimes, even for those who are a bit of a bother?

And so it was decidednext year, theyd host only those who brought laughter and a promise to wash their own dishes. Still, Grace tucked the postcard into the kitchen drawer, her unspoken welcome rippling quietly beneath the day-to-day, like the tide: sometimes inconvenient, always inevitable, and, in the end, more comforting than she cared to admit.