Saturday, August 4, 2007

Report from the Field: Tampa, day 14

The vacation is going surprisingly well. Its hot as blue fire and humid like a sauna. My hair can be drenched in sweat with just a 25 step excursion between vehicle a/c to store a/c. I think it was The Who who claimed to be "air conditioned gyps[ies]" first but I do recall that's how I thought of it when I lived here. Like if this were truly a civilized place that there would be habitrails---you know, like those hamster/guinea pig enclosures you can build if you insist upon making pets of rodents. And they'd be air conditioned. And you'd never have to deal with this godforsaken heat and humidity.

Summary of the insanity...
Niece/nephew Mary and Ryan arrived on Monday. Ryan has grown probably 4 inches since I last saw him in December. He'll be 14 later this month; his voice is very very deep. He is most handsome. Mary is beautiful and nothing about that has changed.

Sister Tracy, her son, adorable nephew Daniel arrived on Tuesday (I think). I haven't seen Daniel (not even a photo) since fall of '04; he is very tall, very confident, very 9-years old. Last night at the dinner table after I'd corrected Haley on some fine point of respect for her mother or something, Daniel said to her, "OH! You also have a mean mother..." Very funny.

So things have gotten busy, noisy and hectic. And fun. Daniel and Haley are peas in a pod. Ryan is so willing to be in the pool with the littles and very very helpful. I've discovered that Ryan is very much the same kind of technology/music geek that I am (not that our tastes overlap much) but we've had a lot of fun traipsing through YouTube and other media outlets together. I'd have never imagined that the two of us would have such great things to do together--- it has been so much fun! We've taken a couple of trips to big-box electronics stores for various and sundry techie bits together.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Tampa Bay
Thursday I stood in for Mom's weekly obligatory "take Grandma shopping" trip over near Clearwater. It was pure delight--sincerely. She played none of the poor-pitiful-me games she does for Mommy and she was lovely to be with. Kelley went with me and that was nice. Unfortunately the day was spent in torrential rains so what is normally a beautiful drive over the 23-or so mile bridge was just scary---people driving too fast in low-to-no visibility.

Sibling (mine)
I don't know if I ever mentioned to you guys that maintaining loving, respectful relations with my remaining sister is challenging--I'm actually beginning to think that's changed. We've gotten better at putting distance between us when we disagree (like, for instance, when she insists that my kids should forego napping because her spritely son doesn't take them and he needs the companionship. I think that's what imaginary friends are for, right?). So while I haven't yet mastered the not-getting-pissed or offended zen thing, there are actually fewer instances when law enforcement gets involved. But I gotta tell ya: when sister and father come home after an evening soaked in scotch, its best to be asleep...or at least pretend.

Very Merry Un-Birthday
Summer is birthday season in this family. Being together this summer has allowed us to have a mega-celebration and so we did. Mom celebrated 65, Mary 19, Ryan 14, Lindsay 4, Anna 7, Haley *9* (tomorrow, actually), Dad 66, Grandma 91, Young Mike 16 (omg). It was a fun, fun, fun day. Daddy got a couple of cd's, one of which is kind of amusing---have any of ya'll heard of the Texas Tornados? Kinda like Tex-Mex polka---overly twangy, amusing for brief periods.

Tracy's husband arrived just in time for the festivities and its great to see him; we share a love of technology and music plus he's GREAT with kids. Fun to be with him.

Quality Time....
With so many people, such a big range in age, it can be difficult to connect with individuals so I've been having mini-excursions with a pair or three kids. Lots of fun, mostly just noodling through a shop of some sort and a cruise to the beach to look at the ocean from the comfort of our air-conditioned, sand-free vehicle. This time of year, the Gulf of Mexico is about 84 degrees. Not even refreshing. Not for me. Its been lovely. All of my nieces and nephews have little personal music players of one sort or another and I get to hear what they like and chat about it, trade recommendations; I've really loved that. I was quite surprised, actually, when Mary (19) reached over to crank up "Carry on My Wayward Son" (Kansas); apparently the boys' chorale at her High School sang it a couple years ago. So I went from delight to feeling like the crypt-keeper just that fast...

Today, though, today was a biiiiiig day. With my three girls, Mary and Ryan, we set off for Adventure Island at about 9 am this morning. A day full of water flumes, rafting, tubes and fountains aplenty, we've been little fishes all day. The very large water park is owned by Anheuser Busch and co-located with Busch Gardens. Some years ago, my Dad worked for a company that would hold its annual party there: evening hours, kegs of beer everywhere and no one else in the park---complete run of the place. Now *that* was fun. Today was more fun for the kiddies but I enjoyed their delight. One of the things I really like about that park is that you can rent "cabanas" that are dedicated spaces with chaise lounges, tables and locker space; all monitored by park staff. It made for a nice retreat from the RELENTLESS sun and gathering space for the group. Worth every bit of the fifty bucks it cost me---just knowing that we had a place where we could keep our towels, sunscreen and shoesies made it easier to focus on the fun and forget about the logistics of what would otherwise be a nomadic day...

What remains...
Tomorrow is Halebug's birthday. In honor, we will all go see a movie and I think I'll have a mini-excursion with Daniel and the bday girl. Tomorrow night I will spend with Tracy at the John Mayer/Ben Folds concert (oh, lucky lucky me!!); calendar is open for Wednesday but will likely be largely spent preparing for Thursday's departure. Back home to Robert, the dogs and my sweet beddie-bye. There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds wonderful. I'm glad everyone is getting along and playing nice. It makes for a much nicer time. I'm ever so jealous of the family comraderie, the heat and humidity I don't have to be jealous as we have been having it here too. It's supposed to get to 100 today. Have fun your remaining days and drive safely. LYFE Nonna March

Melissa said...

I was wondering how your trip was going! I am glad you are having a good time and all getting along! Happy Birthday Haley!!! I hope we will see you all when you get back!