How can the world’s worst vacation turn into a special and fun time? I spent it with My People. When I have them around me, all is good.
Even when it’s bad.
The plan was to take our Sister Trip to Florida, and bring the “kids”. We found an ideally located home on Bobbie’s favorite beach, right next to the condos we adore staying at, but large and luxurious enough to hold a dozen of us. It even had three bathrooms! And walked out directly onto the sand with a view from the balcony that matched our beloved spot from previous Sister Trips.
But then you might’ve heard- there was a hurricane that blew from the gulf all the way up to my son’s home in North Carolina. I was an emotional wreck, and couldn’t even think about what to do about the Siesta Key trip. (My family members in the Asheville area are all doing okay, thank goodness)
There is an iffy line you need to figure out if you’ve got an upcoming vacation when a disaster strikes. It is heart wrenching to imagine what they are facing.
Of course you want to be respectful and considerate of what people living there are going through. Since my kids were in the center of the behemoth of a storm themselves, I could understand how ravaged lives are at a time like that. But you also have to consider when, how and what to cancel, right?
Plus, it’s a tourist area, and supporting the locals with travel dollars is vital, if possible. We soon found out it wasn’t, so tried planning elsewhere, with our numbers dwindling from an original dozen to maybe 8 or so, and without a firm plan on where to go. Then heard another possible hurricane was coming.
Not to sound uncaring about the people in danger of the storm, but monkey wrenches were being flung hither and yon to hinder our trip.
Our on again, off again itinerary was starting to angst me up, and I dropped out too. Then others cancelled and I figured I’d drive to Indy and spend my week there. We planned mini trip to a French Lick resort and some other activities and I was looking forward to it.
But oops- another monkey wrench, this time in the form of pneumonia for Sissy! But she was being treated, the party was still on, we were going to make it a vacation no matter what. Till she had some scary complications that shook me to my core. She is doing well now! But at the time, I was freaking out, it was the exact same time last year that similar problems were developing with Bobbie. The dejavu burbled up in me like a volcano with burning hot fear.
I had to tell myself this was different, there is no underlying cancer like there was with Bobbie Sue, Sissy would do well- and she did do well. But tell that to my nervous system and stress responses.
Sissy was recovering so nicely we wanted to go out for a fancy, staycation dinner to celebrate. And the evening was so meant to be, we kept seeing signs throughout the meal. My balsamic vinegar formed a heart in the olive oil, which might seem silly to take note of, but was meaningful to us.
Then a guy walked by wearing a tee shirt from Bobbie’s favorite Florida restaurant! I went and talked to him, got a photo of his shirt then retuned to my seat to discover a heart in the print hanging by our table.
As I sat down, I must’ve bumped my watch, because a memo popped up reminding me that the calendar noted we should be in Siesta Key.
Of course, I was in tears, plus we were laughing over all the coincidences. Now, I do NOT need signs to miss or be reminded of my sister. But spotting these little hearts and tidbits feel like messages that she will always be with me.
That day, a tree had been marked with a memorial sign for Bobbie, so after an emotional meal, we went to the park to visit it. It was a windy night, and the sign was blowing around on its branch like it was waving at us.
My week in Pendleton was filled with extreme emotions, but also lots of togetherness. We did not get to walk together on the shore, but my nieces and I spent lots of time on the trails of local parks. We no longer had Bobbie with us, but she was part of our days.
We didn’t have a view of the ocean, but we had the sun shining through the turning leaves.
And we had each other to laugh, cry, play, and worry with. Is it wrong that I feel like I had one of my favorite vacations?
It’s one I will treasure.
