No one thought she’d make it a month, but make it she did! Mom was here the whole month of February, which gave us plenty of time to get to the beach, go to the IMAX for her first 3D show, experience a great priest at a lovely mission church, eat out, eat in, knit, see the manatees, play bridge both on her laptop and in a large local group, and read, read, read! I’m not sure how many books she went through, but when she ran out, we visited the library and got her stocked up with more.
Sometimes when I got home from work I’d ask what she did today, and her response was, “Well, I read all day!” She struggled with the guilt of doing just exactly what she wanted when she wanted, and while I tried to convince her that she could anything she wanted and it didn’t matter to us, she said the guilt thing was built into her and she just couldn’t help it. So I said, “Okay,” and left it at that.
We sure did enjoy having her here, and my hope is she had a nice enough time that she wants to come back. Any time!
Yes, it’s been awhile, but now at least I have something to write about.
My momma’s here for a visit!!! Arrived last Thursday evening, so I took last Friday off and we had three days together. Then I had to work 8:30 to 5:00 all week long. I made sure I was all caught up at work, and then I took today (Friday) off so we could have another three-day weekend.
While it’s sunny and beautiful, it’s not going to get much into the 70’s today. Thom was hoping for a beach day, but we’ll have to wait and see. We’re definitely going to go to Blue Springs State Park so she can see Mother Nature at her finest.
Mostly while I’m at work she’s enjoying reading, doing crossword puzzles, playing computer bridge, and occasionally knitting. She loves sitting on the lanai in the sunshine and petting a begging Sadie who will lie on her back until her belly is rubbed.
All in all I think she’s having a good time. I sure hope so. Her visit is going to fly by for me.
We had lots to look forward to this Thanksgiving of 2012. Andrew and his family were meeting the Meads at DisneyWorld for the whole week. They’d picked the Wednesday before Thanksgiving to rent a car, load up the kids, and head over here for the afternoon — no easy feat! They showed up right around noon, and it was so nice to see them all! I thought perhaps little Evie wouldn’t want anything to do with this Gramma she never sees, but I had no worries. She came out of her car seat right into my arms and wasn’t a bit shy! Such a cuddle bum! Oh, my goodness, is she ever sweet. Dez had to lured, though, and since they’d both been awakened from a nice nap, I expected the worst and was pleasantly surprised by how quickly he came around. I’m SO grateful to Skype! After hugs all around, we got them all inside and fed them lunch, then headed to the beach to fly a kite!
It was windy, and not especially warm, so we didn’t spend too much time there, maybe an hour. Evie sat on the beach towel looking darling while the boys set the kite flying in the wind. Surprisingly Dez was only mildly interested. The ocean and the sand had his full attention. He was amazed that his little feet left footprints in the sand, and then those huge waves would come up and wash them away!
He was in my happy arms most of the time since there was no way he was going to let the water touch him. It was getting close to high tide and the waves were quite big; nothing I’d want to swim in. We ran in and out of the water with him safely above the waves, then we’d walk along the beach and find ‘treasures’ of shells. But the wind was just too much for Evie, so we eventually made our way back to the car and drove to a little playground to wear Dez out a bit more.
Back at the house I had a pot roast dinner waiting. Drew got to watch his little brother in his movie, then it was back into the car for their stop-and-go drive back to Orlando.
Thanksgiving Day found Thom and I headed to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for a turkey dinner with the entire family where I was able to hold Evie while everyone else ate in relative peace. Afterward, we went to Disney’s Hollywood Studios for the Osborne Family Lights on the Streets of America. I cannot explain it here, and even the photos can’t do it justice. Thom did put together a little video. But how to explain how I felt standing there with the Christmas music coming from all sides, the Christmas lights waving and blinking to the beat, and then — the snow! Yes, it snowed! To say I was overwhelmed would be putting it mildly. What an amazing experience, and my many thanks to Drew for this wonderful gift of Christmas!
It wasn’t a long visit, but it was wonderful nonetheless. It had just been too, too long since I’d seen my BFF SFAM (best friend forever, sister from another mother), and because I knew she hated flying, though we’d made a plan for her to visit, I wasn’t really planningon it.
But she did it! She flew down here all by herself, first time flying solo. We made sure she had a non-stop flight and she was sitting up front, and a glass of wine before the flight eased her nerves just enough to get her down the ramp and onto the plane. I was so happy to see her gliding down the escalator, bag in hand looking just lovely in a flowing top and beautiful scarf, her cuffed jeans just right for our fall weather.
We yakked, we biked, we ate out and ate in, we shopped and swam and yakked some more. We just really enjoyed spending time together. And though her return flight came too soon for me, I know she’ll come back, because those baby steps were just the beginning.
I was up early this morning and got to thinking about Amy. Memories flitted in and out of my mind of “Sparky,” of her amazing outlook on life, her exuberance, her almost frenetic way of diving into a day…any day.
Years ago we had gone together to see the psychic medium John Edward in Akron, Ohio. She was, of course, hoping to connect with her parents who had passed when she was young. We both absolutely believe in the curtain between life and death, living and deceased, and we both absolutely believe that we are visited by those life energies on the other side, oftentimes in ways we don’t recognize immediately but in hindsight are clear as a bell.
I had one such visit from Amy, oddly enough on the day of her memorial service.
I had flown in from Florida and was meeting up with some of my family in the Plymouth area. Staying at my friend Lynzie’s house, I was lucky enough to have use of an extra car. Since the service wasn’t until 6:00 in the evening and my emotions were running the gamut from heartbroken to straining for acceptance, I went to the mall for the ultimate distraction.
After spending about an hour going in and out of stores, I decided I’d see if there were any hair salons. I found three. Checking the prices at each of them, I returned to the first one and asked if there was anyone available for a drop-in hair cut. The gal behind the desk made a quick phone call, then turned to me and said,
“She’s out in the mall, but she’s heading back right now. It’ll be about 5 minutes.”
Perfect.
I sat down and began flipping through magazines hoping against hope this wasn’t one of those one-cut-fits-all establishments. Like most women, I’m picky about my hairdresser — or is it stylist now? — afraid they’ll take too much off, razor cut it or worse. I knew if I saw a 20-something girl with piercings and neck tattoos walk through that door, I was going to bolt. I kept trying to distract myself from the reason I was in town: my Amy, everybody’s Amy, had finally succumbed to the deadly disease she’d been fighting so valiantly for so long. I could not believe I would never see her again, and tears kept burning the backs of my eyes, lumps filling my throat. I was praying whoever was cutting my hair was the silent type.
Finally a gal – a respectable-looking one, at that – walked through the door and up to the counter. After conferring with the receptionist, she looked over at me, approached me, held out her hand and asked,
And what a great surprise it was! Sunday night I got a text from my sister-in-law Sunny asking me what the weather is supposed to be like next week. I reply, “Your name and warm!” She says she and Dan both have some extra time off and were considering a road trip. “C’mon down!” I made some arrangements at work so I could be here when they were, and the next thing I knew I was up pretty much all Monday night texting for updates on their travel progress as they drove straight through from northern Michigan to Florida. Wow! I told Dan this is the last year he can do it. He’s 39.
It was a short trip, but we had a great time with them. Fun restaurants on the beach, sun and fun in the ocean (including the absolute BEST dolphin encounter so far), great conversations and souvenir shopping made the days fly by. They left Thursday afternoon but wisely plan on breaking up the trip home with a stop in Savannah and Monroe.
What a happy girl I was to have my brother and wife visit us. I hope they have a safe drive home, and I hope they enjoyed it as much as we did. [Check out the photos and videos at the links above.]
What a great visit we had with Meg, Cheyenne, and Megan last week! So much fun! Baby turtles! Boogie-boarding! The fort! Surfboarding! Sunning! Yummy dinners! Dolphins! Boat ride! Cards!
And they’re all good sports, easy to have, helpful. Everything was game, and if it didn’t work out due to weather or whatever, that was good, too. Hope to see them all again, ANYTIME!
Cute video in the Videos tab of us all trying to surf. What a hoot! Meg and I both have battle scars. Cheyenne, though … she’s almost a natural.
LiviKnit 