Slice of Life - A Little Sunshine

I've been participating in Slice of Life, started by Two Writing Teachers. I love the challenge of composing a piece of writing at least once a week about life or teaching.

 

 

     Over President's Day weekend, I visited my parents in their new Florida home.  Katie was skiing in Seven Springs Resort with her high school ski club, and Libby was staying on campus. My husband, Ed, was still traveling on business, so I flew solo.  I left this:

 

And arrived at this:

 

 

     I originally planned on leaving Thursday, but my direct flight got canceled.    I had to reschedule it for Friday and had to fly through Minneapolis/St. Paul.  That's quite an indirect flight to Florida - Cincinnati to Minneapolis to Tampa.  But never fear!  When you are a reader, longer flights just mean a longer time to read.  I started and finished The Shadow Throne by Jennifer Nielsen and loved it!  When I arrived, Mom and Dad's backyard view was a sight for winter-sore eyes!

 

 

     You can sit out on their lanai and see all kinds of Floridian wildlife - including an alligator!  Ed arrived late Friday night, and he had fun tracking that alligator all weekend! ;-)  On one of our walks, Mom and I loved spotting this pair of Sandhill Cranes and a beautiful Bird of Paradise flower.

 

     You can't beat this for a Sunday afternoon in the middle of February!  The pool was heated to bathtub water temperature.  It wasn't super warm that day, but the sun was hot, and I enjoyed soaking in as much vitamin D as I could.  We met some of Mom and Dad's friends for lunch there and heard about all the wonderful activities, excursions, and clubs you can join while living in this great community.

     Sunday night was Ed's birthday, and his parents live a short distance away from my parents, so they were able to drive down and spend the evening with us to celebrate.  We went to Circles Restaurant in Apollo Beach.  It was a beautiful night.  We sat inside because it was a cool evening, but we enjoyed looking over the water.  The sunset was beautiful, and we had fun talking about family memories.

 

     I couldn't help but ask to take this picture of a family's dog who sits up at their table with them!  They were seated outdoors, of course, but you don't see this everyday!   You can't see it very well, but he's got a navy blue bib on.  I asked the family about the restaurant letting them have the dog at the table, and they said the owners have let them do it for a long time as long as they're outside.  The staff says he's better behaved than some of their human customers. ;-)  So funny!

 

     It is a blessing that we have both sets of parents healthy and happy in Florida!  They're active and living a great retired life.   Ed's parents on the left have been married 53 years, and my parents on the right have been married 49.  I also think about our daughters, 20 and 17, who are so lucky to have all four grandparents still in their lives.  I had lost three of my grandparents by the time I was in college, so I'm so happy for Libby and Katie that they can still enjoy theirs. 

 

     It was sad to leave, but we will be back to visit soon!  I wish my parents many happy years in their new, sunny home!

 

     Unfortunately, this was our drive back home from the Cincinnati airport.  We even got stuck in our driveway when we arrived home.  Ugh.  Spring...you can come any time now!