On Vacation

For a number of years Gerry and I were blessed to be able to take a winter vacation and escape to the sunshine. Then, four years ago something happened that put a stop to our tropical getaways.

A grandson.

Followed, six months later, by a granddaughter.

It’s true what they say: a baby changes everything.

I began rationing my vacation days. At the beginning of the new year I sat down and figured the most effective way of using my time so we (and sometimes just me) could visit the grands every few months. (Praise God that they live in the same city! It has made my life oh-so-much simpler than it would have been had they lived at opposite ends of the country.)

There is nothing so sweet to me as becoming a grandma. (A somewhat-fanatical grandma as the back cover of my memoir says.) For the past four-and-a-half years I’ve delighted and doted on these children and been blessed to be able to watch them grow. The miracles of Skype have helped between visits but there remains a longing within me to spend as much time as I can with them.

Grandparenthood put a stop to our winter vacations; I just haven’t been willing to sacrifice my vacation (read: visits to Grandma Paradise). But Gerry has been longing to feel the sand between his toes for some time so this year we’re finally taking a winter vacation despite the fact that grandbaby #3 arrived last year.

So, as you read this I”m either enroute or in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. I talked Gerry into going back to a resort we went to back in 2007 that we loved so I leave you with a few photographs taken during that last trip. See you when we get back!