The End of an Era

 The End of an Era

 

That’s what my daughter typed in a message when I told the girls we would no longer be vacationing in Myrtle Beach. “The end of an era,” my youngest daughter wrote. 

 

Tom and I took the girls to Myrtle Beach for a vacation many times throughout the years. We started going there when we bought a time-share in the 80’s. We didn’t make the trip every year. We often traded for a ski lodge. Once, we traded for a five-bedroom chalet in Scotland. That was fun. We traded our week for a few other experiences as well, including honeymoon destinations for our daughters.

 

After Tom died, I rented the time-share week to others. I saw no point in vacationing there. 

This past summer, two of my daughters, two granddaughters, and my mom and I made the trek to Myrtle Beach to the time-share once more. 

It was our last hoorah! 

 

I sold my place there. I now have no real ties to property in Myrtle Beach. Just plenty of family memories. 

 

It is the end of an era. That’s okay. It is the beginning of a new one…a new place in life’s journey.

 

Mike and I live on a beautiful freshwater lake in Inverness, Florida. There are saltwater beaches within a few miles drive from our house. And plenty of sunshine to go around. 

 

And…our Ohio home is close to family and a bevy of experiences nearby that Mike and I hope to enjoy in the near future. And when I say, “nearby” I mean the Tri-State area of Ohio-Indiana-Kentucky…with a side trip to Wisconsin now and again to see our kiddos there.

 

Myrtle Beach? It has its place in our family experience. An era we all enjoyed.

 

There’s a passage in the Bible that says “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven…” (Ecclesiastes 3:1) 

And yes, the Byrds made those first eight verses in chapter three famous in a song back in the late ‘60’s. The folk-rock hit was called “Turn, Turn, Turn.”

 

The rest of that passage says this:

2          a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3          a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,

4          a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5          a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6          a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7          a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8          a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

 

The era for us in Myrtle Beach may have ended, but the journey continues. 

It is...a time to move on…

And if you missed the post about our last trip, you can find it HERE.