Beginning The World

We are moments away from the start of the Second Annual Mr. Rogers’ Memorial Madaket Triathlon. And The Race Director, yours truly, is extremely hung over.

I slept all the way to Nantucket yesterday — both flights, including the eight-seat prop plane. It didn’t seem quite real when I got here, which may have been the Xanax speaking (but boy were those takeoffs and landings stress-free). The Nantucket Airport (you may have seen it in that sitcom, ‘Wings’) is adorable: gray clapboard, no jetways, no gates. My mother was waiting, waving and smiling.

It seems like just a second ago I was last standing on the back porch of Westwind, our little cottage out on Smith’s Point. So little changes here, though the beach is disappearing rapidly. Ethan is napping, sprawled in his crib. Chris and Jen are off on a bike ride. They’ve never been here before, and their presence here (especially Ethan’s) provides for a good boost of energy.

Chris and I drive out to Bartlett Farms to pick up produce for my birthday dinner: red potatos, blueberries, apple cider, parsley, avocado — all grown right there on the spot. Then we stop into Cisco Brewery and happily sampled their new wares: Whales Tale Pale Ale, Hudson Harvest Ale, Bailey’s IPA. I keep repeating, “I love beer.” And I do. And life is good.