What a Week!

When you do so many different things in a week and experience so many emotions--it seems like a lifetime, doesn't it?

We left Dothan, without much notice, last Sunday morning to travel to Tampa to help the Castros who were all under the weather. Both Elizabeth and Afonso were ailing--laryngitis and knee surgery--and we knew they would recover from those ailments. However, our major concern was their concern about Alexander's high fever and neurological episodes. He didn't have traditional seizures, but it was worrisome nonetheless to all of us but especially to first-time parents. We had a few scary days; however, by midweek we had learned that he had no apparent neurological damage and he was beginning to get his strength back. It was amazing what that news did for all of us. We ended the week with a couple of great worry-free days with precious little Alexander and his parents.

Then on Friday we left Tampa about noon to drive to Apalachicola to meet our friends for what we knew would be a fun-filled weekend. We could hardly get there fast enough. It took us almost six hours of hard driving. When we arrived, three other couples were waiting for us, and the fun began. Apalach is a great little fishing village--population 2800--on the coast of Florida. Our accommodations--which were the best ever--had a balcony overlooking the Apalachicola River. We had a huge two bedroom apartment (in a building of just four apartments), beautifully appointed, and two of the couples had one bedroom units just across the hall. Another couple stayed in a different place. Anyway, we had many hours of drinks, conversation, and laughter on the balcony, a wonderful dinner at The Owl on Friday night and an even more wonderful dinner party for ten in our apartment on Saturday night. The girls shopped; the guys scouted the real estate; we watched the tide ebb and flo. We talked politics, real estate investments; economic development back at home; and how fortunate we are. We told stories--some true; some not. We laughed and laughed and laughed. We were loud and rowdy, and the people across the hall asked us to be quiet--we loved it! We did make friends with them later. We were ten people--some of whom were lifelong friends; some were meeting for the first time. Some have been married forty years; some were dating. We had privacy and space; yet we drew strength from each other. We each brought our experience and activities and histories to the weekend; and we each left there a little richer because of the sharing. What a weekend!

As we arrived home today, the young Roneys and Mother were waiting for us. We enjoyed spending a few precious minutes with them--hearing about their last few days and tellling them about ours. And then they were on their way back home, and we began the process of getting back in the routine.

As we look back, we are very grateful: for the ability to respond when our children need us; for the medical professionals who assured us that Alexander will be just fine; for the friends that are such fun; for the charm of Apalachicola; for the family that was eager to see us today; and for a home that was a welcome sight.