weekend "vacay"

CC recently mentioned that she would

like our family to take some mini vacations.

She said that we could call it

"weekend vacay"

and that it would be like a 

"preview"

of a real vacation.

Along those lines,

we took the kids to 

Atlanta

this weekend.

Lyons had received tickets

to see his favorite comedian,

Jeff Dunham,

and 

we decided to make a 

"weekend vacay"

out of it.  

John and CC

would join us.

They would see

Cavalia

and

we'd stay at

The Omni Hotel.

Sometimes...

I just forget ~

what an amazing city

Atlanta is.

We checked into the hotel

and stepped out on our balcony 

overlooking 

Centennial Olympic Park.

The cityscape

was breathtaking.

I felt like I was a million miles from home.

We shopped at Lenox,
dined at Dantanna's,
and toured the CNN Center.

Dunham was hysterical.

Lyons & I laughed and laughed.

(Which, for the record,

is waaay better

than yelling about homework.)

John & Carolyn

looooved 

Cavalia.

John said it was the best production

he has ever seen 

of any kind.

gyantunplugged.com

When we returned to our room that evening,

the sight from our balcony

was even more dazzling.

It may have been only 24 hours, 

but a

"weekend vacay"

turned out to be

just what

this family needed.

putting it in perspective

Having an eleven year old daughter

has led to many talks

about friendship

and 

"heart" friends

- those friends whom

 no matter

what time or circumstances have passed

remain closest to your heart.

This afternoon,

as CC and I left home for a walk,

I received a text.

It said:

'Hi!
Can you come over?

With a bottle of wine.

White.

Not too heavy oaked.

Chilled.'

We immediately turned around.  

One of my "heart" friends

is facing round 2 

against breast cancer.

Everything we had planned

for the afternoon and evening

changed at that moment.

We turned around,

packed up,

and headed over to my friend's.

I cannot describe 

the time we shared

or

how wonderful it was to 

see her 

and to talk.

Everything that had been important

earlier in the day

washed away

and 

what became clear

were moments

friendship

family

love.

I hope she kicks cancer's ass.

the bench

While we were in New York

over Christmas,

we visited

Ground Zero.

It was so different 

than on my first trip

ten years ago.

At that time,

the ruins were still 

smoldering.

Now,

the footprints

are "Reflecting Absence."

The absence of so many lives

lost.

Fathers, brothers, sons.

Sisters, mothers, daughters.

Each life a gaping 

hole in the lives of those

who loved them...

And love them still.

I wanted my children

to see this place

because

they will grow up in a very different

America

than the one I once knew.

While waiting on our appointed time,

we visited the 9-11 Museum.

Carolyn saw me perusing a book

and surprised me with it

for Christmas.

I read it in one day.

Of course,

books lead to 

books...

so I downloaded 

AND THERE HE WAS...

Since moving to Sag Harbor ~

day after day,

 as often as possible,

I walk at Long Beach.

And each time I walk the mile

end to end,

I read the inscriptions

on the benches.

For some reason,

Steve Cherry's bench

(dated 9/11)

has always 

magnetically

held my attention.

I once googled him 

and found that he was a father

of four boys

and a devoted husband.

I had often thought of how unfair it had been 

that he

went work one day

and never came home.

Yet - there he was!

In my book!

I finally found out 

what had happened to 

this person I had thought about

so many times.

His story has been written down

for posterity.

And I prayed:

May God still be with his family.

May All the stories of 9/11

remain in our hearts

and souls.

May every story be told

and every life remembered.

May something like this

never ever

happen again.

May we be forever thankful

for the soldiers

who protect our rights 

and our freedoms.

And

 May God Bless 

the 

USA.

a day at the beach

One day last week,

we went to the beach

in East Hampton.

We didn't spend winter's days 

at the beach

when we lived in the Hamptons full time.

What on earth 

could we have been thinking?