This past Thursday, around 4:30 PM, I caught a flight out of the Arnold Palmer Airport in Latrobe and rode it all the way down, non-stop, to the sunny coast of Ft. Lauderdale. I make it down here at least once year. It helps that I'm blessed enough to have not only an uncle down here, but two cousins, and a multitude of family friends that always welcome me with open and gracious arms.
So, what have I been up to since I arrived? Well, I've been living a really demanding and stressful life, let me tell you. Once I got here, I jumped in the car with my Uncle and my Nana (Italian word for Grandma) and got some pretty good grub. Then, pretty much just went to bed. That Friday I woke up, laid out in the wonderful 70 degree weather by the pool, and spent my time going in out of consciousness and reading when I had the chance.
That Friday evening I also had a chance to catch up with one of my first professors and academic advisers at Clarion University, Dr. Brian Dunn. I met him when I was a freshman at Clarion, and ever since we've been lucky enough to stay in touch. We've always talked about getting together and catching up, but we never had the chance; until now. Dr. Dunn, my cousin Alex, Alex's girlfriend Simi, and myself met up at a wonderful restaurant called J Marks' in downtown Ft. Lauderdale. We enjoyed an amazing meal with even better conversation to complement it. After saying our good byes and parting ways, Alex, Simi, and myself headed back up to Stuart, Florida, the place where he resides.
We spent that Saturday morning outside working in his yard. I walked around cleaning up and throwing away trimmed branches from palm tress for a good hour or close to it, before we focused on mulching and de-weeding the back yard area around the pool. Afterwards we sat down, ate some awesome pizza, and decided that we all wanted to go paddle boarding.
What's paddle boarding? It's when you get on a rather large and slightly wider surf board, stand straight up on it, and paddle out into the ocean. Now, we weren't in the ocean exactly, we stayed in an inlet, but it was such an awe inspiring journey. To literally be standing out in the middle of the water, with nothing but the wind and sun pounding at your back, it just made me feel so alive, so in the moment. In fact, I got so lost in the moment that almost 2 hours went by as if it was nothing.
I woke up this morning and went down to one of the local churches there in Stuart with my cousin. It was a really nice service that set a great mood and mindset for the rest of the day. A mindset of being thankful and aware of the wonderful things that surround our lives every day.
My family and I just wrapped up a cook-out. I have to say, it was one of those wonderful things the preacher was talking about. I sat there, listening to the laughter of my Nana, my Uncle, and the rest of my family. Watching people making new friends, sharing great food, and simply enjoying life together. It made me feel such warmth it's truly hard to put into words.
Now, I also have to add that during this time, there have been moments where I've missed my nephews, nieces, father, mother and the rest of my family. But I know I'll be seeing them soon.
For now, I'm gonna focus on getting a bit more work done, and then prepare for tomorrow's activities. What are they, you may ask?
9 AM snorkeling tour in Key Largo, right out in the reef.
Blessed.
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