When Home Shines as Brightly as Rome

Over the past ten years, I have spent summer days in a myriad of places -- Fiji, Indonesia, Australia, Spain, France, Holland, and China among others.

This summer, I decided to celebrate graduation by just hanging out in my favorite -- nearby -- places. The first stop was Marblehead, MA.

I'm fortunate that my extended family happens to be from one of the most pristine and adorable colonial towns left in America. Marblehead lucked out by not having a harbor big enough for the Industrial Revolution. So it remained colonial. The local residents carefully selected modern advancements (like plumbing and electricity) and left out franchises and much modern construction. As a result, you can meander down the streets seeing little signs on houses indicating which shipmaster, baker, or merchant lived in said house in the 17th and 18th century.

As a child I always knew Marblehead was a stunning town; childhood Christmases look like something your mind creates when reading the Dickens' Christmas Carol. As an adult, ironically, the magic only amplified. The contrast between this small town and the rest suburban sprawl became ever more apparent.

The magic was further amplified this summer when my family also all found themselves together rather than abroad. My cousin and her family -- headed to Rome -- discovered on the way out the driveway  an expired passport.

They accepted defeat gracefully and with good spirit.

As a result, we had this (see right) delicious, celebratory family reunion and birthday party for my aunt Sally.

So no Roman Holiday this year, Fijian coconuts, or swims off the coast of France. Instead, I played football with my nephew, practiced my jack knife dive with the kids, picked tomatoes for my aunt, biked around colonial America and enjoyed the rich blessing of us all being alive and together.

I was also able to spend some time in the art studio of my cousin, Jonathan Sherman.
My childhood skate and snowboarding pal grew up to be an astonishing artist, specializing in Renaissance techniques and stained glass. (If you want to commission a museum-quality piece of work, click on his name above). Many people in my family have special talents and huge accomplishments, but none of that was the point of the dinner you see above. It was the giggles and togetherness that mattered most. 

The youngest used a pack of cards to assign seats by age. The kids spent the afternoon with Jonathan and his lovely wife making the Happy Birthday sign for Sally. 

Having had the great good fortune to travel all over the world, I have many "happy places." This summer, Marblehead shined as brightly as Rome.