22 Nights on a Blow Up

We are back home again after the boys kicked off the summer with a beach-going marathon. They spent hours in two different oceans in different Florida cities for 20 out of the past 22 days. And on every single day they also swam in a pool. For hours.

We travel with two blow up beds for the boys with their sheets and pillows. One is a twin for the Middle son and the other is a queen for the Oldest and Youngest. They went to bed at about midnight and usually had to be woken up at about 9:30.

Last Thursday I flew to Fort Myers, FL to join the family and close out the June vacay. I had not previously gotten specific, but I had never spent 9 days away from the boys/Hubs before--7, but not 9. After I flew home from West Palm Beach, the boys traveled back up the Atlantic, staying again with oldest brother in Satellite Beach, and checked out Sebastian Inlet, another surfer site. Then back to Daytona area to stay with MIL. From Daytona they drove across the state on I-4 and then down I-75 to Naples for a couple days before I joined them again.

It was another smooth, early morning flight (yay!). My grandmother lives in a condo by herself and we visited her for late lunches, and the boys swam in her pool for hours and we went out to dinner with her twice to celebrate her birthday and then my birthday. She is all alone and I panicked that maybe we needed to be with her all day. My Hubs wisely reminded me on Friday that it is my vacation and my birthday too and to relax at the beach in the town where I had many growing up memories.

Every day included the perfect combination of beach time, pool time, good food, Nana time and staying with a wonderful friend/former bridesmaid. Don’t you love those friends you’ve known longer than a Hubs? You can go without speaking for a couple months and then pick right up again.

I thought the boys might be bored with the Gulf because there are no waves whatsoever. But they were thrilled that since it is so much warmer than the Atlantic that I am able to wade right in and swim around. They played with each other more during this vacay than the whole school year, it seems. A manatee swam by and we had never been that close to one before. A dolphin duo swam by too. Middle son loved to swipe my ankle underwater when I was facing the other way and then he'd ask if I screamed (which I did) and then he said, “Darn, I can’t hear that when I’m underwater.”

The first night’s dinner out was for steak and Nana insisted on paying the bill. We cheerfully said we'd do the tip and she refused that too. So we let her do what she wanted (like you have to sometimes when the grands are pretty old). I told Hubs later that it sure is handy having the boys older. Nana is notorious for being a lousy tipper. Middle son was sitting next to her and we mouthed to him, "How much is the bill” and he was able to see it since she was occupied with digging around in her purse. He held up his fingers to show us. Then he was able to indicate how much money she gave the waitress. Hubs was able to discreetly meet up with our waitress afterwards for some tip supplementation......

The second night was my birthday at a restaurant on the water. I was almost dizzy with memories and felt much joy that day and night. I remember being there when I was 9 years old on vacation from Texas. I was there when I was 15 on vacation from California. I knew I’d go there on dates one day. I was there on dates when I was 20 after having moved to Naples from Calif.. And I was there last week with my guys and my Nana who hadn’t been to that part of town in years. After dinner we suggested that we drive to the pier for a walk and Nana said that she couldn't because she can't walk. We told her I'd drive her right to the entrance and then she had her walker and there is a bench toward the front of the pier and Oldest waited with her as we parked. Sometimes you have to tell the really old grands that it will be OK.

We arrived as the sun was getting ready to set. I told the boys how when I was 15 and on spring break vacay with my family there I saw a cute boy my age on this pier when I was alone at the beach. We looked at each other a couple times in passing. As I walked down the stairs that led to the sand and down a bit to where my towel was, I noticed he followed. I picked up a stick and wrote in the sand, “I'm Michele, from Calif." and approached him and told him I wrote him a note. He wrote back, "I'm Greg from Canada." and we talked for a while and exchanged numbers. I didn’t tell the boys that later at night we met back at the pier and kissed big time hidden by that little snack store you see in the photo.

The last night’s dinner was a cook-out by my friend’s pool. I met her on the pier too when we were 20 and had seen each other at some classes we were taking that year before we went away for our last two years of college at different schools. We struck up a conversation and felt as if we had always known each other and hit the town's dance clubs together that night. A couple of years later I introduced my fiancé to her and he immediately clicked with her too. In fact, Hubs and the boys stayed at her home for a couple of days before I arrived. Many aspects of our lives are opposite from each other but she makes me feel like I am the sixth of her five sisters.

So on our last day the boys spent almost 4 hours at the beach, 2 hours in Nana’s pool, and 4.5 hours in my friend’s pool. We went through 6 bottles of sunblock and two spray cans and one small stick (it's great for around their eyes). It was the most gorgeous night that I did not want to end--with the half moon out.

We made really good time on our 9.5 hour drive home yesterday. During the two hours that I drove, Hubs read his Father’s Day cards. We found one in the drugstore the day before that had a plunger on the front and when opened you hear kids' voices thanking their dad for always managing to clean up their big messes. Does anyone else have a family that manages to clog a toilet at just about at every house we visit? Hubs always has to ask our host for a plunger. Happened twice on this trip to two different boys.

I really can’t say enough about how he is a great dad every day and especially on their 22 day surfin’ safari. It brings me to my knees when I think of what our kids have in a dad (and mom).

The boys went to look at their rooms right away when we got back home and said, “Oh wow, look at those clean beds all made up!”

The only injuries are the soles--especially the big toes--on the bottom of these little feet. Ripped up by the concrete from 22 days of pool action.

And today they were out with their friends, at the park and the county pool. It is Go Skateboarding Day. And of course the Summer Solstice.