Fourth of July

Well it's the fourth of July weekend and I was thinking of a time when the kids were small.  My in-laws used to rent a beach house for a week or two down in Narragansett and the whole family would come down during that time for a few days here and there.  On one occasion, my mother-in-law took me, my husband and our daughter to a shallow area away from the beach to dig for periwinkles.  The sun was warm and bright, the breeze was cool and the water was clear.  We had the whole place to ourselves.  Our daughter would have great  fun digging for the small dark blue/brown shells and playing in the water.  She was small enough that the water reached to just below her knees.  Later that evening Ida would make periwinkles with spaghetti.  She could always make a feast out of simple ingredients.  We would eat it with some nice Italian bread and salad.  After dinner she took us for a ride to have ice cream cones and watch the fire works.  Even though I was no longer a child myself, she made me feel like a kid again. It was a fun day.  Both my in-laws are gone now, but they left me with some great memories and this is one.