Vacation

I just returned from a 13-day vacation visiting family in South Carolina.

The trip got off to a shaky start when I presented my ticket and ID at airport security. The man at the security desk spent (I thought) an inordinately long time perusing my driver's license. I babbled, "I know, it's the worst picture ever taken of me." After a long, theatrical pause, he replied, "It's expired." When I began looking for my current license, he waved me on through.

The vacation itself was all that a vacation should be. I hadn't seen my daughters in almost two years. One daughter drove 90+ miles from Columbia SC to Charlotte NC on Friday to pick me up at the airport, then proceeded to drive back to Columbia and on to Charleston SC (100+ miles) so we could weekend with my other daughter.

The next day we visited a friend's pool. I haven't been in a bathing suit or a pool for forty years, but my five-year-old grandson was a bit chary of the pool (the things we do for our grandkids!). In truth, it was a huge stepping stone for me also. I had recently lost a bit of weight and, although not at my ideal weight, could actually fit into my bathing suit. I was also uncomfortable about the scar resulting from hip replacement surgery, but nobody else seemed to notice. I was also nervous about getting into the pool itself (afraid I'd slip & injure myself), so stayed within grabbing distance of the edge throughout. Not all that I'd hoped to accomplish, but I'm pleased with what I did do.

When my daughter went to work that evening, she was chastised for having "an inappropriate sunburn"!

We returned to Columbia on Sunday evening. During the week, while my daughter was at work and my grandson at day camp, I visited with my sister and her husband. Friday was my mother's 94th birthday. She hadn't felt up to a big festive occasion so family members either visited with her throughout the day or called. My daughter came up from Charleston on Friday and we held a big family supper; we laughed so much! Saturday we held a yard sale. I had hoped to sell some candles from the Mia Bella line that I just started distributing but it was so hot (high nineties with near 100% humidity) I don't think anyone was in a candle mood.

Sunday I returned home and, apart from the 45-minute delay sitting on the tarmac waiting for the weather further north to clear, it was uneventful. My son picked me up and took me to dinner. While at dinner, he informed me that he and his family (2 adults, 2 kids & a black lab) might be moving in with me in August. That should be interesting!

Once I actually got to my house, I started in on the accumulated voicemails, emails (1000+) and snailmails that had accumulated in my absence (my daughter does not have internet or cable). I've gotten through the emails, voicemails, snail mail, facebook, twitter and am now in the process of reposting all my expired craigslist sales. So much work (in addition to my regular work)! Sometimes I don't think vacations are worth the extra work and aggravation!