OK Boys, Break’s Over…

… and so my first real vacation in over seven years come to a close. You may say, “Hey, what about all of those Disney trips? “ Well, here is how I define a real vacation:

It must last at least one full week AND it requires being away from home for that week

There is usually a third – It must involve no more than two people, and one of those two must be me. But with a family reunion as the basis for the vacation, well, that one got waived. Besides, the aforementioned vacation seven years ago was the beginning of a series of events that resulted in my eventual divorce. While, in retrospect, that is not a bad thing, I am not looking to repeat that experience ever again… the two rules will suffice.

There is no way that I am going to attempt to chronicle the entire week. But I can give you some highlights (and low points)

There were 19 of us in a very nice beach house at a wonderful location. But, there were 19 of us… Everyone was very nice and considering that I was new to 15 members of David’s family in a potentially awkward situation, everyone was very nice. It didn’t take long to fit in…

I shared a birthday with Amy (pictured beneath the blade), one of David’s nieces, who quickly became my favorite (shhh…. Don’t tell the rest). David gave me a very cool and unexpected gift – the entire Absolutely Fabulous series on DVD, packaged in an absolutely fabulous silver tufted case that looks like a book, complete with silver and black leopard print silk book marker. Smashing, sweetie darling…

There were six children ranging in age from 3 to 13. In my experience and considering my low tolerance for children, I must say they are very well behaved… most of the time. But they are children, so I expect them be just that… children. I think my facial expression says it best...

I have heard it , but now I have experienced it - this family really does get along very well. Most were up each night to the wee hours having cocktails, playing games, having cocktails, talking, having cocktails. Amazing…

David got an earache on Tuesday and is still fighting it.

I got sick on Wednesday with fever, muscle aches and chills. The worst of it lasted for only 24 hours, but I still can’t eat properly (not necessarily a bad thing at my current weight.)

Mom’s 80th birthday was on Thursday. We all descended on a local pub that serves great pizza and other than David’s earache and my inability to eat, a good time was had by all. One of David’s nieces made a very cool cake and we did the gift thing back at the beach house. I still can’t believe that she is 80 – she is, to say the least, an amazing woman. Oh yes, we gave her the coolest gift – a digital frame loaded with new and old pictures and even included a video clip from Christmas at Disney. Oooh’s and Ahhh’s abounded.

The fireworks display on the 4th was probably one of the best fireworks displays in my experience. The beach is a big crescent from Sanibel Island, through Fort Meyers, Bonita Springs, and all the way down to Naples. All were going at the same time and we were right at the center of the crescent. Some of the most impressive displays were right on the beach on each side of us – really, really close on each side of us. For a change, I decided not to bring the camera and just enjoy it. It was a very good choice.

I didn’t turn off my phone soon enough and work did call… later, I missed a birthday call from a good friend who I really would have enjoyed talking to. Oh well, cell phones are a necessary evil.

We left with a ton of leftover food, about 500 photos, goodies from a local outlet mall, and returned to find all was well, and that bills don’t stop coming in the mail just because you are on vacation.

That’s the short version. And so for now, break’s over. Tomorrow, I find out what awaits me at work, ready to hit the ground running. I reserve the right to whine about it.

But before that, perhaps a Sunday nap…