After two weeks with Dad, it was time to head south to visit one of my closest friends and her family in Naples, FL. The drive was a little over 300 miles and took me 6 hours.
When I was eight, my family moved from Newport News, VA to Hawley, PA and Vanessa was the first friend I met on the school bus. I think she was the only kid willing to speak to the little girl with a funny accent and gaps between every tooth! That was 34 years ago and I’m grateful to still have her in my life. We have seen each other at our worst and our best, cried until we laughed, laughed until we cried, lived on a single can of tuna for days at Penn State, and watched each other grow into the women we are today. Vanessa has come to my side during some of the most difficult times in my life and I am incredibly blessed to call her my soul sister!
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| 34 years of friendship and counting! |
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| Good food and great company at Food & Thought marketplace |
It had been about 3 years since I saw her children, so I was very much looking forward to spending time with them. I arrived at their place Wednesday, 2/12 and Vanessa and I cried as we embraced and laughed at the realization that I drove over 4,000 miles to get there. Emma (9) and Nathan (5) took to me as if they see me everyday, so I have to thank Vanessa for keeping “Aunt Jennifer” a part of their lives despite the geographical distance. To me, both kids look like mini-Vanessa’s but their personalities are quite different. Emma is very serious, thoughtful, and completely trustworthy to do the right thing. Nathan is unlike any child I know. He has a sense of humor and free spirit that should be bottled up; but trustworthy, he is not! His negotiation tactics are far beyond his years and he does it with humor and slyness making it hard to keep a straight face.
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| Beautiful Emma and T enjoying the pool |
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| Crazy Nathan being crazy |
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| Everyone enjoying the shade while working on our blogs |
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| Early morning cuddle time |
The Garden
Vanessa and her husband Mark have turned much of their backyard into a thriving garden and are dedicated “clean” eaters. Prior to leaving Seattle, I too was wheat-free, dairy-free, sugar-free (sometimes), anti-processed, anti-artificial, blah, blah, blah; however, when I left Seattle, I decided to replace all of those rules with one rule: to eat whatever I want whenever I want so I can enjoy the local cuisine along my journey. After partaking in too much deliciousness at my father’s house for two weeks, the “Owens Detox” was welcomed. The veggies from her garden were fresh and full of flavor!
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| Vanessa looking for lunch goodies |
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| The proud gardener! |
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| T trying to find something "dog-worthy" |
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| T finally found a cool place to escape from the sun |
Outdoor Time
Vanessa and I spent a lot of time walking, chatting, and laughing. It had been two years since she was last in Seattle and I wanted to absorb every minute with her. We reminisced about some of our fondest moments, including throwing a mattress out a second story window in Philadephia then driving a U-Haul to my new home in Atlanta. We grew up next to each other so there are countless memories of us running through the woods (and sneaking cigarettes at some point in our early teens), rollerskating up and down “Owego Turnpike” with no helmets and no awareness of oncoming traffic, and cruising the streets of Honesdale in her Dodge Aspen or my Dodge Omni. I could write a novel on our lives but the words will never do justice to a friendship that has lasted over three decades.
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| Early morning walk in Freedom Park |
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| Native wildlife! |
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| Love |
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| One of Florida's beautiful birds... the Snowy Egret |
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| A black Anhinga showing off |
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| Vanessa showing off |
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| Flowering cactus |
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| Highlight of our walk |
When the kids got home on Valentines Day, they showed me all of their treats and told me about their friends at school. I spent a lot of time just sitting and listening to them in hopes of engraining myself in their lives. They loved the RV and affectionately refer to it as “Auntie Jennifer’s House Bus”. They also decided that we should be called the “Trooper Clan”. We went for a lot of walks around the neighborhood where Emma and Nathan negotiated for Trooper's leash and spent several hours at a local organic marketplace called Food & Thought where I met several of Vanessa’s friends.
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| Emma & Nathan in the "house bus" |
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| Emma did quite well on Valentines Day! |
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| Nathan confused about the bag of chips for Valentines |
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| Homemade veggie pizza to celebrate Love Day |
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| The kids bought Trooper a new toy! |
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| Our goofy shot |
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| "Trooper Clan" in the RV |
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| Our goodbyes :( |
If there was any doubt in my mind about taking time off and being unemployed, after three weeks in Florida with my father and best friend, there is absolutely no question. Spending time with them has been soul-enriching. It is easy to let the days go by and phone calls unmade. These people are a part of me and have defined who I am; I cherished our time together. If you’re reading this blog, I encourage you to pick up the phone and call that loved one you’ve been meaning to call for a while…
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ReplyDeleteSo great !! You both look the same like in high school lol
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