Siesta Key, Waxing Serious and Why You Should Listen to Your Eleven Year Old's Vacation Plans

Every vacation we take has always been spent in Florida. For those who don't know, Bruce and I went to college there in St. Petersburg at a teeny liberal arts school called Eckerd College. Bruce's parents live in Sarasota so we continue to visit them, as well as my good friend from Eckerd, John. This last trip was bittersweet. We hadn't been down since Bruce's dad passed away about a year and a half ago.

We had great fun going to the pool and the beach, catching up with family and friends, but this was the first time we had to deal with the fact that Bruce's dad, Harry, is gone. The three weeks we spent there while he was in hospice was spent dealing with the business of death and dying, not with the fact that life has gone on without him. The giant hole in the universe was most apparent when we visited their store Asian Arts and Decor Teahouse. It seemed inconceivable that I wouldn't hear his booming voice and see his bright blue eyes light up his face as we walked in the door with his grandkids. It's a big hole, and nothing will ever fill it.

Ella's favorite place in Sarasota is Siesta Key. Even with a schedule packed so tight there was no wiggle room she insisted that we had to visit there our last night. I didn't understand why until she mentioned that she had "happy memories" of it. Grampa Harry always trekked out there with us when I insisted on getting sunset pictures of the kids. I regret that I don't have better pictures of him with Ella, and I'm sure what I do have can be improved upon with a little post production, but here's what I have, and I'm glad that I do. He was a Dad with superpowers...a Grandpa who could make the kids fly until he left us at the age of 90. The world is a quieter place now, and as his daughter in law, I will miss him.






His last words to me were, "Take care of my grandbabies." And, I will.