The cleaning people came yesterday, and in the short span of two hours effectively wiped away all traces of the past two weeks.
We engaged in our own version of chaos here in Florida, one imbued with love as opposed to the national political version laced with evil. For the first time in the 7 years we've been snowbirding, all four of our children's school districts had the same spring break. Usually spring breaks spread out over a month, giving each family time alone together, bunking with Grandma and Grandpa. The turnover is not dissimilar to a revolving door, often one family being picked up at the airport while another is packing up their suitcases to leave later in the day, beds being stripped and remade, towels washed, etc. There has been some overlap of families for a couple days but never all 4 families here at the same time. Until this year.
I must admit, I'm proud of how my children worked out where they would stay, and when, and who would be here with us. My takeaway from this is to stay away and trust their process. Easier said than done because after all, I am still THE MOTHER. Their reminders to me wafted toward the gentler side although there were some moments when I felt barked at. Then I would remember that I used to bark at my mother, too, when we bunked with them for our spring breaks over 35 years ago, and recognize that if I didn't want to be barked at, or barked back, it would require that I dip into that thumbnail size vat of patience I requested in my prayers when I went to sleep. Usually that worked.
I made two plans for while they were all here and it turned out that two was plenty. We went on a boat ride to Keewaydin Island, where the shelling was plentiful, the Gulf of Mexico was warm and inviting. Sunshine and water has aways been my mantra for keeping kids happy.
We're only missing Molly's significant other, Cam, on the Tiki Boat.
Captain Jackson
We're in Naples this year due to significant damage done by Hurricanes Helene and Milton to our rental up in Belleair Beach near Tampa. The complex we're renting in has a beautiful pool area, which all the kids and their parents (and us) have really enjoyed. My sister, Barb and her husband, Pat, have a condo in North Naples (we're nearer to Marco Island, so a 40 minute or so drive depending on traffic, which there seems to be quite a bit of down here). One of their daughters and her family were here while all my kids were here, so the second event I organized was a picnic by the pool. It was really fun to see my niece's boys connect with my grandchildren.
The whole fam damily
from l: Bridget Mastroianni (my youngest), the Dan-o, Pete O'Neill (Maggie's husband), Maggie O'Brien (number 3 in the family lineup), her daughter Georgia, her son Jameson, Ethan O'Brien, Sloane Mastroianni, your truly, Molly Bahneman (my oldest), her son Beau, her son Jackson, daughter-in-law Kitty, her daughter Millie, Tom O'Brien (number 2 in the family line up), Darin Mastroianni and his son Ace.
The grands with Dylan and Brody Byrer, my goddaughter Christy Byrer's sons
The old folks
Dan-o, me, me, my sister Barb, brother-in-law Pat
The rest of the time the kids were here, it felt to me they made the most of both spending it together and finding ways to spend family time alone. As the kids have grown up, the meltdown moments have dissipated, the ability to be self-sufficient expanded. The chaos of the world faded into the background as the chaos of children's voices and laughter and storytelling and gameplaying danced in the forefront. With plenty of sunshine and unlimited amounts of pool time, kids and parents slept soundly each night, wandering into the kitchen in the morning to see what Grandpa was cooking up for breakfast. (He is the breakfast parent.)
They're all back up north, at work, in school, tans fading. We're here until the end of the month, and it's noticeably, remarkably quieter not only in our complex but throughout Naples and Marco, as the bulk of the snowbirds return home at the end of March. I prefer April in Florida as to April in Minnesota, since the weather in our beloved home state just simply can't make up its mind to flip the switch to spring and stay there. When we get home in May, it might still be working out the kinks but the ground will warm up enough to plant the garden in short order.
My parents started this spring break tradition over 35 years ago. They rented a property with two bedrooms and two bathrooms and a sofa bed and we were grateful for their generosity and open arms. Many of the stories told during these past two weeks involved spring breaks on Sand Key with Grandma and Grandpa. I hope that my grandchildren are accumulating Grandma and Grandpa stories that they, too, will tell with laughter in the future.
And one morning, my granddaughter Sloane saw a cardinal in a tree behind the lanai. I hadn't seen a cardinal before, or since. We decided it was my dad, just checking up to make sure everything was okay.
Let me reassure you, Dad. Everything was more than okay. You would have loved being here.
Comments
Post a Comment