A small post

First, I wanted to ask all of you how you are doing this evening and let you know that we are doing well. This includes alot- A TON. "Alot" can mean different things but we really are doing fine. The kids aren't in the ER. I am so finely mellow after staying in Gulf water for more than just a few minutes- got to swim, soak and talk to some exotic people from far away places (New Yorkers) who were so friendly I had to step back and stop myself from asking if they had lox for my bagels at home.

This place is strange still, my birthplace, the "tampa area" I was born. So many family around, so many holidays spent here throughout my youth (many ones I was ticked about but got over it as I grew up), so many familiar places that my parents went to high school, got married at, family burial sites (McMullens in the house!) and deep sentimental ties (McCarthy/Mock families also) that have been so nice to revisit, especially since my parents come here often.

Family aside, in the end, all I wanted this morning was to not have to THINK, PLAN, CLEAN Or WORRY for just about 4 hours. And ,thanks to my best friend, Phillip, I did. And he gets his. We trade off days sometimes, but this one was overdue for both of us. He had 5 days off in a row, and keeping two young boys happy for 12-14 hours with a nap is hard to do> But, we do it! We take them everywhere....3rd Fridays, wine festivals, Tarpon Springs, the mall which has an indoor playground, the beach,the playgrounds, the gym with a daycare...you name it, we find something to haul them to...just like our own parents did.

I remember sitting in the back of a pickup truck with a camper top with a tub full of scallops leaving Gulf County years ago. My parents didn't ASK if they could take us scalloping..we just did it. Some days, we would end up driving around northern Bay County looking at Antique stores in Eufala, Dothan, Chipley or Youngstown, and come back with cool treasures, just because we were told that is what we were doing that day. We didn't question...we went with the adventure.

Whether you take your kids out on a boat like mine did our whole lives, or you take them to a zoo...the memories you give them stay with them forever. I am proof of that.

But keep in mind..it's ok to take a "break" - each parent getting away to remember and live their hobbies or loves is healthy and needed.

Sharks beware! There's a mommy in those waters! Nothing is more watchful, sharp, or in desperate need of soul Food.