My daughter convinced me to go on vacation to the seaside: “All inclusive, Mom, you won’t have to do a thing.” I paid for the tickets myself. Upon arrival, I discovered I’d be staying with my grandchildren, while she and my son-in-law would be in a different building.

We stayed there until the sun rose over the building next door and the balcony became too hot.

 

“What should I do now?” asked Anna.

 

—Start with something simple. I’m resting today. All day. You take care of the kids.

 

She looked at me with surprise, as if she was hearing such a sentence from me for the first time.

 

“Okay, Mom,” she replied quietly.

 

I got up and went back to my room.

 

Next to the reception desk was a small tour desk. I looked at the photos for a long time before stopping at a boat trip along the coast.

 

It lasted almost the entire day.

 

This was exactly what I wanted.

 

I signed up, went back to my room, put on a new swimsuit, grabbed a towel and headed towards the port.

 

As the boat pulled away from the dock, I sat down on the upper deck, ordered tea served in a small tulip-shaped glass, and began to look out at the shoreline.