Go To Your Happy Place

After what felt like an eternity of house hunting in Tampa, it would be putting it mildly to say that we needed a break from reality. A 12 hour drive from Hattiesburg to Tampa with our three kids was only the beginning for both children and adults alike getting sick of being in the car. Day #2 was spent driving around Tampa to get a feel for the area. It began with 2 hours in a clinic for Ally's swimmer's ear infection and ended with a tired crew of kids, tired of being in the car with absolutely no destination. Day #3 was spent with a realtor who, although touted that being born and raised in Tampa (she was in her early 50's) couldn't even give us directions to her house! We spent an hour waiting for her to map out our day's search and that was just the beginning of our ill fortune with Donna. Day #4 was Sunday, so we went to church and then visited model homes, putting the kids through yet another grueling day of boring grown up stuff, where they weren't allowed to yell, run, play or relax. By the end of our sojourn in Tampa, the grown ups were equally exhausted and frustrated. On Day #5, we loaded up the car (no small feat) and were off to Ft. Myers Beach for a week of fun and sun.

I think I speak for our entire family when I say we were in great need of a get away. Having just received the news only 2 weeks prior that we were being transferred from Shanghai to Tampa, we were all feeling the stress and worry associated with making such a big transition with only one month's notice.

We arrived around 4 PM, tired, disheveled and somewhat irritated with one another. It was with a huge sigh of relief that we greeted our vacation house.

We rented the upstairs of the 'Glass House' and were thankful that there were no tenants on the bottom floor during our week stay. Here's the view from our patio:

The house is located on a little island called Little Hickory Island. It is one of many in a string of islands running parallel the west coast of Florida. Because it is a little out of the way, it allows for quiet and uncrowded beaches.

Our neighbors to the right were quite interesting to observe. After 2 or 3 days of trying to figure out this family, we finally talked to them, learning that they meet at the beach every year as a family. Because each child is grown with families of their own, they spend a week at the beach, coming and going as their schedules allow. At any given point there were 8-14 people at the house, speaking a medley of Spanish and English, tinged with Cuban and Ecuadorian accents. Ally asked one day "Mom, just how many people ARE there in that house?"

We spent the week sunning:

Swimming:

Playing in the sand:

And even found time to fit some good old fashioned grilling into the mix:

Where the kids and I found relaxation and our slice of paradise on the beach, Lee found his quiet joy on the golf course. When I met Lee, his passion outside of work was golf. Year by year, he slowly relinquished his free time (bit by bit) to raising children, meeting the demands of his wife and keeping up with the house, lawn and the Jones' in an exhausting effort to maintain an equilibrium. Happily, dad was able to get back to the basics by spending a couple of afternoons hitting a little white ball around a really well manicured field! Yeah Dad!

We live in a world filled with distractions. The world our children are growing up in is vastly different than the one we remember. When I was a child it was safe to roam the neighborhood unsupervised for hours. My mom could leave me in the car while she ran into the grocery store. It was safe for me to stay home alone. In our modern and technologically advanced world even the precious innocence of childhood is no longer sacred and we must protect their virtue with a vicious vigilance. So with utmost sincerity I say: Cling to your families, cling to their innocence. Cherish the time you spend with them. As a family, find your happy place and savor everything that makes that place special. Our next step is to take our home, wherever it may be, and ensure that it is our Happy Place.