Home from the Holiday
2002-11-30 - 6:03 p.m.

Back from the Beach. Tired in body but renewed in spirit. We drove down with Dr Dad on Wednesday midday in his SUV; all together, at his request....cozy but fun and gave him some control I guess. Anyway, his car has so many bells and whistles we had to get out the manual to figure out the seatbelts in the back :-) Big boys just have bigger toys....

We arrived and really liked our "villa." One entrance with our two bedroom condo and an adjoining one bedroom efficiency. He seemed to like having his own spot to retire to.

Wednesday night I made pasta with chicken in wine cream sauce and we relaxed and settled in. Gpa had brought several of Gma's beautiful Thanksgiving things to decorate the condo. It was sweet and poignant to see the beach decor juxtaposed against the grapevine cornucopia filled with paper autumn leaves and gourds. We watched a good bit of Who's Line and laughed a lot.

Dr Dad walked the beach a lot in the evening not wanting company. I assume it was good for him as he developed a routine in doing so.

Thursday, the family went swimming and I made dinner...no big sweat as we had Honey Baked Turkey Breast and premade casseroles of Carrotgasm and Stuffing along w/ veggies and cheesecake for desert. We start the meal with Grace then why we are thankful. I was thankful for growing in admiration for my husband of 17 years, Leslie for our children, Katie for passing summer school and getting to stay with her class, Christie for her group of good friends and Dr Dad, his family. My mother-in-law was a premier cook and it is always odd to cook for them so I was thrilled that Gpa liked everything. We went to see Emperor's Club which offered the interesting dichotomy between Christie's interpretations as a naive 12 year old against Dr Dad's "mature" and definitely more jaded opinions of human nature. I love my family as their is always a chance to smile.

Friday we got up and I made Shrimp and Grits and biscuits for Brunch. Gma never made them as they are a lowcountry thing so it was fun to bring something new to his table. He really liked it. Then we went "shopping" and I realized how good it was to have a mostly female house. Men do not shop well and with a tag partner, even Les was not long for the experience. Still we had to run home anyway as we had gotten up late and we were going to a Broadway review that night. Home out of the blustery wind to Cheddar Cheese-turkey soup and grilled cheese on tomato herb bread. Then we dressed for the show, I had chosen dress pants and blazers for everyone knowing the beach would be more casual...indeed it was and Gpa was a bit scandalized. We had a wonderful time and I sat between the girls watching their bright eyes and shining smiles as much as the stage show. I LOVE being a Mom; I suppose mostly because I get to be THEIR Mom....

Today, we headed to Broadway at the Beach for lunch and a bit more shopping and the Butterfly Pavilion. I missed Mrs. Shelton there. It was full of flowers and butterflys and it reminded me of her garden in the Spring. I think it got to Dr Dad too. We left and waited for the girls and Les in the giftshop.

We always shop for ornaments so we got a dolphin one with "Gpa" on it to remember the year Dr Dad came to the beach and several shell santas for my Interns. In the past we had always given them a cool santa. Much of the shopping revolved around finding "the one." So, this year we found Santa driving a pink Caddy convertable and it reminded me of Gpa coming to the beach.

We will wait and give it to him some future Christmas when it is a little less hard.

previous - next

gratefulness.org

� dameanne 2001-2002
design by colin-g

Latest Older Guestbook Profile diaryland