Feels good to be home!
How to Save a Life
Here is the story of my journey to Florida almost two months after my beloved Nana's death. The purpose of the trip was to spend some time with Poppop and help him sort through Nana's stuff. The findings, memories, atmosphere... it's all so intense. It feels like she should still be right here. But she's not.
And so, we are still honoring her and loving her legacy, the gifts she left us, the love she spent years pouring out to us. Nana sure knew how to save a life.
Apr 02
Because nothing’s more fun than riding in a smelly, stuffy airplane with a pilot warning us that the next 2 hrs will be filled with turbulance…
The Owl & the Pussycat paper arts store - beautiful products but the snippiest, most stuck up, un-customer-friendly lady ever made us want to leave!
» Mimi's Cafe
Delicious eats!
Had a delicious lunch at Mimi’s Cafe at the Bell Tower in Ft. Myers
It feels like she should be on the other side of this chair. Like I should be kissing her goodbye right about now. “Bye darlin’,” she’d tell me. “Bye Nana, I love you,” I’d say as we’d draw each other close. “Oh, I love you so much,” she’d reply, “I’ll miss you so.” Tears would fill our eyes as we’d contemplate the wonderful time we’d had, the miles that will soon separate us, and how much we need to be together. I miss her, and I miss those temporary goodbyes. I’m thankful for each goodbye that would end in a few months… Never did I dream our last October goodbye would be the last time we’d say goodbye together… forever.
Packing…
So now what do we do with all this stuff? Especially seeing how airlines charge for checked baggage now…
Apr 01
Another long night…
Listening to the crickets, looking at the moonlight through the window, feeling the light breeze of the ceiling fan… Thinking of Nana, wishing she was a few rooms away from me… If that was the case, I’d surely be with her, not lying in bed merely dreaming of her. We’d always be the last to go to sleep, watching TV and chatting long past midnight. I miss every second of those hours. What I wouldn’t give for just a few more seconds with one of my very best friends, my precious Nana
Had a fabulously delicious dinner at a longtime favorite restaurant, Cap’n & the Cowboy. Shrimp, chicken, scallops… All 3 of us cleaned our plates!
After awhile
I found this poem in her “special drawer” where she kept her most cherished keepsakes like letters and photos, and it stood out to me because it really summarized the values Nana exuded to all she knew.
After awhile you learn the subtle difference
between holding a hand and sharing a life
and you learn that love doesn’t mean possession
and company doesn’t mean security
and loneliness is universal
And you learn that kisses aren’t contracts
and presents aren’t promises
and you begin to accept your defeats
with your head up and your eyes open.
And you learn to build your hope on today
as the future has a way of falling apart in mid-flight
because tomorrow’s ground can be too uncertain for plans
yet each step taken in a new direction creates a path
toward the promise of a brighter dawn.
And you learn that even sunshine burns
if you get too much
so you plant your own garden
and nourish your own soul
instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.
And you learn that love, true love,
always has joys and sorrows
seems ever present, yet is never quite the same
becoming more than love and less than love
so difficult to define.
And you learn that through it all
you really can endure
that you really are strong
that you do have value
and you learn and grow
with every goodbye
you learn.
{Veronica Shoffstall}
