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Friday, April 25, 2014
Parents Behaving Badly
Monday, April 21, 2014
Easter Fashions
KYesterday was a glorious day here in Key West. 78 degrees and sunny with a gentle, cool breeze. Our church has multiple services on Easter, including several in the Stations of the Cross garden. While I was standing there, surrounded by palms and beautiful tropical foliage, with my arms around both girls as they stood in front of me, I truly felt the blessings and joy of Easter. It is standing room only, and I can't always hear every word the priest says, but it is one of my favorite masses of the year because it is outside. Key West gets many tourists for Easter weekend. Schools up north hold their spring break so that the holiday weekend is included, and I think there are many families who make it a tradition at one of our inns or hotels. I love looking at the clothing worn by these obviously wealthy city folks. There is a India Hicks/Aerin Lauder vibe with the women, and a young Alec Baldwin thing with the men. And their children look like they were created for a Ralph Lauren campaign. I always wonder what these visitors' history is with Key West....did they grow up coming to the island every Easter and now they are passing the tradition on? In a perfect, privileged world, I would have an apartment in Manhattan, a house in Key West, a family beach compound in Maine, and just for my husband, a condo near a ski town out west. It's funny how comfortable I am with our simple life here...just thinking about all the clothes the four of us would need for such a life makes my head spin. And, at least one of us would have to get a paying job (like running a hedge fund or cranking out a bestseller once a year) for such extravagance. And that would take time away from our kids and the volunteering projects that we hold dear. Oh well....a nice world to visit in my mind, just for a little while.
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Life without Murphy
Don't worry.....this isn't going to be sad. It's been a few weeks since we lost our beloved mutt Murphy to old age. And we are all fine. The girls say 'Murphy is in dog heaven' and if ever there was a dog to earn a spot there, it was her. One of Josie's teachers loaned us a book titled Dog Heaven. She had purchased it for her children when they lost a beloved pet a few years ago. Illustrations of dogs sleeping on clouds, but only after walking around in a circle three times, of course. It is still strange to walk into an empty house and realize she isn't here. Most mornings it was just me and Murphy, until John got back from his run and joined us. I have had two dreams since her passing that she was in the bedroom with us, on her dog bed, like always. But, I have to say, there are some things that have given us a bit more freedom. Of course, hotels no longer need to be dog friendly and we can actually fly on our next trip north if we choose to. If I am bringing groceries into the house, I don't have to shut the front door between loads. If the girls leave the side gate open, we don't need to search frantically to make sure the dog didn't get out. As old as she was, Murphy still enjoyed the occasional tour of the neighborhood. Now that makes me smile, but at the time I would be mad and worried, yelling her name until I heard her rustling around in somebody's bushes. These little freedoms are going to prevent us from getting another pet for a good long while. After cleaning up after an old dog for the last few months, the last thing I want to do is clean up after a puppy being trained to go outside. And I am really looking forward to our summer trip up north in June.....it will be so much easier and less stressful. But, I miss the old girl. As I write this I am watching the breeze in the palm trees and I know Murphy would put her nose in the air to see what smells the wind was carrying. I hope that is what she's doing in Dog Heaven today. And everyday.
Friday, April 11, 2014
Bahia Honda Beach & Funny Conversations
While we were hanging out in the water, a woman struck up a conversation about the water temperature. When I told her that we lived here she didn't hide her feelings. OMG, WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO LIVE HERE??? I explained that we actually lived in Key West, and were just spending the day at the state park. OMG, KEY WEST? THAT IS EVEN WORSE? IT'S NOTHING BUT A DRINKING TOWN! I told her that yes, our town has Duval Street, but it has much, much more than that.....history, architecture, art, culture, etc. I asked if she toured the lovely homes in Old Town Key West. WELL, YES, BUT THEY ALL HAD BIG PLANTS IN FRONT OF THEM! Um, yes, that would be colorful tropical foliage....we are known for that too. I pretty much turned my back after that because nothing I was going to say was going to change her mind. We all got a good laugh after she moved on.
When we were heading to my Jeep to leave, we were passed by a man wearing one of those unfortunate bathing suits some men wear. I made eye contact with my niece and we giggled. A woman walking by with her friend said I SPY WITH MY LITTLE EYE....A EUROPEAN! It's true. The little tight swim trunks they tend to wear are really bad. Really, really bad. We giggled most of the way back to KW.