Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Postcard from Ft. Lauderdale

It's been SO long.
But I'm still here.
There are many drafts of new posts in my "Dashboard"...and somehow they never get finished.
Life is rich and good, and I only wish there was a Pause button I could push now and then to catch up with myself. Alas, there is not, and I find myself 40 years old, as of yesterday. This milestone doesn't feel all that significant, to me, despite it's reputation. Maybe it will hit me later? What feels more shocking is that we've just completed our 6th year of homeschooling, and that Simon turned 3 a few weeks ago. Or how about that we've been in New York for over 4 years? Not sure why, but those numbers seem to pack more of a wallop with regards to the passage of time.
I'm writing from the balcony of our 10th floor hotel room in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. I'm looking down on the tops of palm trees and listening to the sounds of the koi pond waterfall and late night traffic on 17th Street. The hot and humid tropical air is finally pleasant, this late, as opposed to crushing during the day unless you are submerged in the Atlantic Ocean or the pool.
We're here tagging along with Brett's work project for Port Everglades. It's a strange existence--I'd forgotten, since it's been a while. Most of his work now is for the New York Port Authority and he rarely travels. But this brings back memories of all those months we spent traveling with him when we first moved back East. It doesn't exactly feel like a vacation, since one of us is working crazy long hours. The kids and I try to take full advantage of exploring and experiencing, and we can usually have a late dinner as a family at the end of the day. We've been here before, although I can't really remember how long it was, but we keep stumbling upon things we remember from last time.
We are buying an apartment. Well, in NYC you don't say that at this stage, you say "we have an accepted offer". We know from one that fell through a few months ago that there are so many ways this can fall apart. I'll report more on that soon, when I know a bit more.
The school year is ending, and so is my 2 year term serving on our homeschooling council. I feel like I've let a lot of things slide this year--our structure and discipline has really gone downhill. Mostly due to Curious George. It's amazing what a mischievous and chatty little monkey can do to order and peacefulness. Sigh. I'm hoping now he's three that the fall might be a little different?
I think the mosquitoes have found me...I'm heading back inside.

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