Rocky is new to this “empty nester” thing and it’s not going well. She is trying to recapture her “nest” as her family gathers for a week of vacation on Cape Cod, in the house they’ve stayed in year after year. She is thrilled she and her husband are with their son, daughter and their son’s girlfriend – and also that her parents will be joining them for a couple of days – but her feelings keep getting in the way. Why is she so angry all the time? And sad? And then remorseful? And then so full of love? It isn’t just that she’s menopausal, is it? Even while she pines for her past, she admits that it may not have been as perfect as she likes to think it was. Perhaps it is ok to live in the present.
I love the title of this novel for its very apt dual meaning. While it correctly summons the image of the quaint town that greets you as you travel over the bridge to Cape Cod, the town where the family vacation takes place, it also likely refers to the “sandwich generation” in which Rocky is a bit stunned to find herself. Rocky expends a tremendous amount of energy reminiscing about her exhausting but loving days when her children were small; on the other hand, she is also anxiously watching over her parents, who, in her mind, are suddenly gray-haired and frail. She rues the fact that her children are independent, intelligent adults, and simultaneously acknowledges that her parents now need attention they never needed before. This is a hard place to be, as there are demands still on both sides. It requires heart, humor and a great deal of tact. And while Rocky is blessed with the first two, she seems to still be working on that last one…
What is abundant here in the writing, however, is the love she feels for her family. There is so much of it that it spills over into the heart of the reader and one cannot help feeling what she feels as well. The warmth, the humor, the tender moments and goofy conversations are quite authentic and relatable. While her specific circumstances may be unique to her, the relationships are almost universal – and I feel (hope!) that many readers will relate to the characters here.
This is a fun summer read that runs deeper than one might expect.
kindread spirits 