Life and Coconuts

 

Beach Memories, No. 1 — The Blue Bench in Islamorada

My first trip to the Florida Keys feels like a dream I can still walk into. We stayed at a tiny resort in Islamorada—just a handful of pastel cottages tucked inside a tropical garden. A soft white-sand trail wound between palms and hibiscus blooms, leading to a simple blue bench on a quiet dock.

That bench became our favorite place. My mother, who loved little hidden spots like that, would stroll down the sandy path each morning, past all the cozy cottages, until she stepped onto the dock. I always followed behind her, watching the sun sparkle across the water like it was trying to show off.

We would sit side by side on that blue bench, looking out over the endless, gentle ocean. The moment felt so perfect, so still, that we kept saying the same thing to each other: “It doesn’t even seem real.”

Now my mother is 86 and living with dementia. She remembers none of it—not the garden, not the cottages, not the blue bench or the way the Keys smelled like salty air and sunlight. But I do. Every detail. And when I think of that trip, it feels like the memory was handed to me to keep safe.

The ocean has a way of holding moments forever, even when people can’t. And this one—this blue bench, this quiet dock, this day with my mother—is one I’ll carry for both of us.

Keeping the memories alive,

Sherri

Resort: Pines and Palms Resort   https://www.pinesandpalms.com/