Back Up to Monday, Aug 20th

This was me at Fire Island the day before all the pre-surgical tests at Sloan-Kettering. The kids and I went with my Mom and "Snally" to Kismet, Fire Island. Most of you reading this know that I have gone to Kismet since I was a child. My family and the Klimas would come squealing around the bend into the parking lot at the beach before 7am to avoid paying the parking fee. After setting up beach blankets on the shore and coming to we'd walk about a mile to Kismet for breakfast at the Kismet Inn.

The Fire Island National Seashore between Robert Moses State Park and Kismet is like coming home. An extension of my childhood home on Long Island. The sand is soft and familiar. The dunes, the lighthouse, the houses at Kismet are mostly as I remembered them. This place is very soothing to me. I loved having sandy feet.

Small seashells were in my pockets in NYC on Tuesday and Wednesday. The ocean is my place. The place where I feel peaceful. Going there with my kids is cool. Jacqueline stood at the water's edge looking out at the Atlantic; mesmerized. And I watched her watching; also mesmerized.