I grew up in the Bronx, New York, where summers were brutal, hot and crowded. Summer camp was not an option for my brother and I, but visiting our grandparents in Jamaica was and we were always eager to go at the end of each year.

My parents, Eric and Marjorie, were a fisherman and former school teacher who migrated from Jamaica in the 1960s and lived in a modest home in Kingston that always seemed to have enough room for all of their grandchildren who would descend on them each year. 

The heart of their large  home was my grandmother Marjorie. Each summer, she took care to make each grandchild feel special and loved. For me, that meant a heaping serving of my favorite breakfast–ackee and saltfish with fried johnny cakes— whenever I came to visit. For my cousin, it meant a pretty floral sundress that Grandma Marjorie made on her Singer sewing machine. For another, it was being taken to summer dance classes at the National Dance Theater Company of Jamaica. But, in addition to the special treats, there was also some work. 

To our mild dismay, Grandma Marjorie did not let the training she had received as an educator go to waste. During our visits, she required that we all spent time brushing up on our math, reading and writing skills. She did all of this while also managing the family business: selling all of the fish that my grandfather caught. Grandma Marjorie was definitely multi-talented when it came to feeding us, teaching us and juggling our activities along with those of her daily life. But somehow, she made it all look easy. 

The highlight of every summer was the big family trip to Lime Cay, a small uninhabited island off the coast of Kingston with beautiful beaches and aquamarine waters. For the trip, my grandfather’s fishing boats were repurposed to carry passengers instead of fishing nets and large coolers of food instead of bait and fresh catch. 

Each time, Grandma Marjorie gathered as many family members as possible to make sure the grandchildren got to know and built relationships with their Jamaican cousins and aunties and uncles. The event was a stark contrast to our life in the Bronx. In addition to the sheer joy of being surrounded by family everywhere you turned, there was a seemingly endless space as we looked out into the sea.

What I remember most about those trips was my Grandma’s joy when everything came together and we were all finally able to relax on the beach with our toes in the sand, a cold bottle of Coke in one hand and a corned beef sandwich in the other. It was the only time in the summer that she donned her bathing suit and got in the water with us. She’d put on a cap to protect her hair but once she was in, she smiled and played like the rest of us. I can still see her twinkly smile on those summer days. 

Those trips to Lime Cay were her greatest gift to all of us. She understood the importance of connecting her family abroad with her family on the island and making sure that no matter how far some of us traveled across the globe, we all knew that we had a home in Jamaica. 

Grandma Marjorie is no longer with us and although we miss her greatly, she was successful in creating the family connections and memories that we value to this day.

Sheryl Suarez enjoys cooking, gardening and spending time outdoors with her family and beagle. When not spending time with her family, she works as a telecommunications lawyer.