A Dream is Finally Coming True

As a girl growing up, I loved going to the beach near my Philadelphia home. At first we went to Atlantic City – then 2 hours away. Once the freeway was built that became a little more than an hour away. It was the happiest of times that I remember from childhood.

And right about when the Casinos invaded Atlantic City and suddenly it was not the family place we grew up with, most Philadelphians I knew migrated suburban to Ventnor, Margate, or Longport – the three cities all the way down the same island as Atlantic City but more of bedroom communities.

My aunt and uncle owned a place in Ventnor and when I was a teen, it was the site of some of my most happy and idyllic times during that era.

So of course I dreamed of having my own place there someday.

My beautiful Margate – the bay view. (There’s Ocean on the other side!)

That dream took a detour when I moved 1600 miles away to Houston. I have been here 31 years and it was unlikely that I would ever buy a place so far away. When my aunt and uncle sold their place though, my visits were more infrequent, but I found myself both missing the “shore” I loved so dearly and longed to be there more.

Now that I am starting to contemplate retirement, I wanted to make a plan to include summers at my beach in Margate. I could have rented a place each year but rentals are astronomical. It seemed more economical to purchase a small place when the real estate market went south during the recession.

“An investment” we reasoned!

Hell with that reasoning, it is a dream come true.

As is always the case in my complicated life, I could NOT spend parts of my first summer of condo ownership in my beautiful Margate. I was attending Rice University all summer, so we sadly rented it out for the summer.

Now it is the next summer and in one week, I will have my first taste of summer condo second home living. I cannot wait!

In fact, I packed this past weekend – a full week before. I NEVER do that so I must be excited! And since we are doing short hops due to work obligations this summer, we are only packing enough for carry on luggage. That was a challenge for me. I was determined to pack a summer’s worth of clothes for our multiple trips.

My husband heard what I was doing and thought it strange, but I figured it out. I packed and unpacked many times for summer trips there, and never left any clothes behind as we stayed in hotels. I didn’t want to feel like I was packing for another hotel stay.

I want bring a wardrobe and  leave my summer clothes there! In that way, it will really and truly register that the place is mine, all mine, to use at my whim and disposal. It will make my dream come true seem more real.

So if you see me in the airport busting out of the two largest legal carry ons allowed, you can smile and know why.

And for all my readers, keep dreaming, because those dreams can come true!