Trippin With Dad

You can never be completely sure when you meet someone new, say a complete stranger at a hospital, where that meeting will take the both of you.  I don't believe in happenstance--only in divine intervention.  That being said, we walk past good people all the time and may only offer them a smile and a nod and not much else.  It can only be Holy Spirit that draws us towards a particular person or circumstance and says, 'daughter, step in here'.  That was my situation recently.  And that's typically my situation on "Syl's Big Adventure Day".  It never fails that the Lord puts someone in my path that I am to interact with on more than a surface level and if I am obedient it is an amazing experience.  I was blessed to meet a lovely lady from Columbia who happened to be at the same facility I was.  I'd scored a $25 facial (which was delightful by the way) and was feeling pretty rejuvenated when I overheard her say she needed a ride to Publix.  I wa...

I am having a hard time grasping the scale of the ship we are about to embark upon.  The Symphony of the Seas, Royal Caribbeans largest ship is an absolute beast!  I keep trolling photos of the floor plans of  what will be our home for 8 days and I am a bit overwhelmed.  As you can see from the photo the ship is taller than most of the buildings in any of the ports we will be visiting.  It's like crazy big.  According to Alexa the ship can house over 6,600 people.  The city I currently live in only has 1,409 people as of 2017.  It truly boggles the mind that a ship that size manages to operate day in and day out safely all the while helping travelers make special memories.  We were blessed to get a handicapped room near an elevator which was #Favor.  I'm already liking the fact that the handicapped rooms on this ship appear to be centrally located; I can't wait to see the actual layout and the balcony space but the photos look promising....

Shakespeare was most definitely right when he penned the phrase, "parting is such sweet sorrow".  It is indeed bittersweet when new friends leave to start new adventures.  You're alternately happy and sad at the same time because you'd hoped to get to know them better over the long haul.   But circumstances and situations call for flexibility and, sometimes, moving on is the best choice.  Today we said goodbye to one friend.  But we've secretly cried over the loss of several others these past months.  You're grateful to God that He chose to place them in your life but still...Take the best of care my friends, be well, make new memories, stay in touch.  Much love!

We all want more for our, money, time, experience.  What we touch, see, taste should ostensibly add to our lives.  Why else 'spend' on that thing?  Sometimes we shop with the express intention that what we purchase or expend energy on will make us feel better about ourselves or our current sitch.  That item should add something to our lived experience.  When we travel we want new memories, not reruns.  We've all had that sinking feeling when it appears we've wasted our money on a bad meal, our time on a really bad movie or spent much too much time in a truly awful conversation that seems to lead nowhere.  As I age (gracefully, Lol) I have less and less patience for experiences that do not add value to my life.  Maybe this is the true benchmark moment for those of us that have more life behind us than in front of us; I simply cannot tolerate wasting time on 'blah'.  What I'm also recognizing is my affinity to not only acknowledge those individ...

I've never been one to sweat too many of the details of my day, but now, I've become 'Miss Plan ahead'.  I plan out what Dad is going to wear the next day and I set up his outfits.  We pre-make his special drink for the next day.  I know what his breakfast is going to be.  I'm finding that if I sweat a few of the details of his tomorrow then my today goes more smoothly.  This is a trick I am sure every sane parent already knows but as a fairly new caregiver, it hadn't occurred to me until recently.  I used to wake up thinking; "lets just see what the day brings. Fah la la la la".  6 years in now, I have a script for how the day should flow; It's like I pre-game in my mind.    I've lost some spontaneity and gained a bit of (perceived) control.  It's a trade off that I've managed to actually like given my current circumstances.  My husband and I synchronize our calendars so we don't overlap events. We tell each other about anything ne...

How many of us have them?  The ones that go above and beyond.  Who ask about, hug, pray for, feed and generally love up on us?  Today I'd like to highlight a few of those friends we've made since we've been in Florida.  In addition to those in the photographs I'd like to mention my neighbors Denise and Frank and Mary and Don who have invited us into their homes multiple times for lovely meals and fellowship but I don't have receipts.  And of course our oldest friends in Florida, Brian and Stephanie Davis, Who have taken us into their home countless times and are the reason we live in the Tampa area.  We are so grateful to have the love and support of people here; I hope we are able to eventually return the love we've received thus far.

Say there's 24 hours in any given day; Just go with me here.  And you have a lot of stuff going on in that time frame.  You need to sleep,  spend time with God, take care of bills, do house work, shop, help out a friend, participate in ministry, look after your plants, entertain yourself, order stuff online, cook meals, drop off and pick up your loved ones, plan an event, work on vacation plans, write a blog, exercise, wash and style your hair, answer texts and emails and Facebook posts and Messenger comments, work on three never ending creative projects, do laundry, spend time with your significant others (what am I missing?) OH YES. Organize life for another person who is completely dependent upon you.  Everything can kinda be muddied up together if you're not careful; it gets hard to say where you end and the others in your household begin.  Some days it's like swimming under water trying to reach a shore you're not sure exists; you just pray that the oxygen ...

If you know me well chances are you know I like a mini-vacay in a big city almost as much as a longer more luxurious vacation on, say a beach.  Give me 36 hours and I will endeavor to run roughshod over a berg lighting hither, dither and yon on tourist traps and local favs alike. I tend to dress like a hip local which is to say I wear stylish but comfortable clothing, layered on for temperature changes and no visible handbag.  This may seem obvious but I have found airline staff go out of their way to take care of a well put together traveler than, say, someone flying in their pajamas and a sleep scarf.  IJS.  My most recent mini-vacay was spent in the company of my dear niece Jennifer who was the main focus of my visit.  She's been in the D.C. area for going on a year now so Auntie HAD to do a fly in to check her out during her birthday month.  I rented a cute two room condo in the Greenbelt neighborhood and we hung like wet clothes catching Ubers, b...

I know, I know. It seems silly.  But I can spend HOURS in a Conde' Nast Traveler magazine imagining myself in the beautiful places on the beautiful pages.   It's a bona fide FACT that imagining  and planning out a vacation can be just as relaxing as actually taking a vacation so, don't judge! Lol I've circumnavigated the world oh, maybe a dozen times or so in my mind just for fun.  Shanghai, Marrakesh, Lisbon, Madrid, Cape Verde, Cape Town, Madagascar, Sydney then home to catch my breath.   Then back out to Lima, Panama city, Dakar, BudaPest, Istanbul, Bangkok, Seoul, Kyoto, Bali then back home to catch my breath.  Then...Oh, I'm just getting started!  I've got the perfect outfits for each place already in my closet.  I've got the love of God in my heart and the Holy Spirits protection and I can just feel the sun on my face in each city as I type this. I look forward to meeting some amazing people on the stoops of life, sharing a l...

Lets just get down to it.  Have you taken care of yourself lately?  Some personal gesture that signals you are worth the same time and effort as the loved one you are caring for?  Does this sound harsh?  If so, then I'll bet you are being neglected by, well, YOU.  I know, I KNOW how selfish this will sound to many of you.  You couldn't possibly take time to see to your own needs let alone wants.  How would this look to those around you?  Family and friends that honestly? you feel just might be in the judgement seat about you as caregiver.  But.  Does it really matter what other people who aren't in your current position think?  What should be first and foremost in your considering mind is, 'what does God think?'  You lay down so much of your life to be a caregiver and that pleases God.  You honor your loved one by surrendering your will to His and that pleases God.  You do good deeds in places and spaces no one will e...