We had a visitor this year to our humble abode
in Florida where we are staying with two very undemanding dogs.
Paris, our teacher daughter, tired of not spending the last five birthdays with us, said she wanted to come and stay.
“It’s been too long!” she said.
So we enjoyed a plethora of special activities, favorite meals and well loved stories and had six perfect days in each other’s company.
We ate so many good home cooked meals, fried chicken, pancakes, enchiladas, fajitas and ribs, that I felt as though the pounds just piled on!
Paris cooked a real meal for us (corny dogs and frozen pizza don’t count!) Turkey Lasagna. Delicious!
We walked the dogs, three and four times a day and rode our bikes to help defray the calories.
We tried 5 Guys, near Fort Myers,
where the servings were huge.
We went to church together and prayed the birthday blessing over Paris with the congregation.
We drank a cappuccino at our local coffee shop where we snagged our usual comfy, cozy corner,
and giggled at the silly sign!
We stopped for breakfast in Clewiston (sugar capital of America) on our way to Miami for the day,
We ate gelato in the art deco district as soon as we arrived…
Hey it was her Welcome-to-the-World day!
We glanced at the beach and the beautiful ocean and posed for a picture,
or two,
and then sat under the Miami Beach sign with the auspicious date of her birth 26 years ago,
On the way back from the big CSI city we stopped at Sawgrass Recreation Park for a ride on an airboat through the Everglades,
and learned a few fun facts about alligators.
Did you know the sex of a baby alligator is determined by the temperature of the egg in the nest? A difference of 6 degrees determines whether it’s a male or a female.
The hot-hot eggs are He’s, the not-so-hot ones are She’s.
On land we saw several African Spur Thigh tortoises, some as large as 100 pounds,
And a giant alligator named Cannibal who tips the scales at 1000 pounds! No thank you!
We played cards in between activities and all had a chance at winning!
We reminisced about childhood, hers and ours, homeschooling, playing outside, the famous McNeny parties, volunteering together, the early beginnings of Koofee-Koffee, leaving home, Mercy Ships, college and growing up.
She decided a small dog was definitely her style.
The three of us had our day-to-day interrupted for a fleeting week and were evidence of the following blessing given by longtime senate chaplain, Richard Halverson:
‘You go nowhere by accident. Wherever you go, God is sending you there. Wherever you are, God has put you there. He has a purpose in your being there. Christ, who indwells you, has something He wants to do through you, wherever you are. Believe this, and go in His grace, and love and power.”
With these words ringing in our ears we said goodbye to our visitor to Turkey Creek.
We are looking forward to our final two weeks of house sitting and anticipate with joy our new role as parents to amazing adult children.
Well hello there! My name is Vivienne McNeny.
I am an empty nester exploring life as a Boomer…you could say I'm happily Boomering along!
As a homeschooling Mum I have finally quit the job of role model and mentor to my four children. I do what I want to do, eat when I feel like it, enjoy life with my blue eyed cowboy and clean my house once a month or so whether it needs it or not!
In true English form I write about the emergence of my true identity now that I can no longer hide behind my children as their Mum.
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2015-07-20 23:10:56
It was a wonderful week.
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