March 31: Florida, alligators, and Easter

 We are flying home today after a wonderful spring break in Ft. Myers, Florida. One day Sarah told Carl that he was wearing a sleeveful shirt, in contrast to her own sleeveless shirt. She also happily wore her new socks with foxes on them every time she wasn’t in flip-flops or barefoot.

We spent many hours on the beach and at the pool. The wind was quite strong a lot of the time, especially on Thursday when we went to Sanibel Island. That day Carl and I knew we needed full vigilance and one-on-one attention if the girls went in the water. Sarah opted to stay sitting in the sand. Amy wanted to be in the waves, which were the biggest and most sideways we had seen. Carl went with her and they had a great time getting moved down the shoreline by the waves. They would walk about a block or two away from where I was sitting to enter the water and then get out three blocks away the other direction. Even though Carl was with Amy, I kept a close watch on both of them. On their last excursion they decided to go a bit farther before getting out and were surprised to discover that instead of the current easily bringing them towards the shore as it had been, it suddenly wasn’t. They had to work a bit and swim like they meant it to get in. By that point I was starting to wonder and get grumpy, thinking they were just staying longer for fun but also contemplating what I would do if they needed help. All was well and they did get out so we could make the long drive in heavy traffic to get off of Sanibel. That night I was up for a while imagining all of the ways things could have gone wrong, feeling all of the fears belatedly. 

When we go on vacation, Sarah often suggests getting flowers for me, because we did so once many years ago. It has thus become tradition to get a bouquet that we can actually keep out in easy view instead of hiding it in a cabinet so our cat won’t eat it. Amy promptly pretended to be a big cat trying to eat the roses and then hopping off the counter with her cat butt held high. 

One discussion ended in tears of laughter. We were talking about some friends we could maybe visit briefly this summer. Carl said he thought the kids were about Amy’s age. I said, “Oh, I think they are a bunch older… like 13.” I meant it honestly, not as a joke, but then collapsed in deep laughter given that Amy is 13!

Sarah was in fine form a few hours after having a big meltdown that Carl fielded while Amy and I were beachfully unaware. It was helpful to have Sarah in her sparkliest mode while we waited at a restaurant for a long time. We knew it would be a long wait but I underestimated how much I should have bundled up given the breeze. I was freezing. I was also grumpy because that is sometimes what I do when things don’t make sense to me. The restaurant didn’t take reservations but you could call ahead to get in the queue. We did. They said the wait would be two hours but to show up in one hour. Why?! I cannot comprehend the reason I needed to be there in the chilly breeze instead of snug in our place a short drive away. While I was being cold and disgruntled, Sarah was doing her version of cartwheels and running around with her arms stretched out, saying she was a super hero. During dinner, which was delicious enough to make up for the wait and incomprehensibility, the table next to ours emptied and Sarah found it hilarious when the staff cleaned the table and the food on the floor. She was laughing so hard she could barely get her words out. 

Yesterday we took an airboat ride to see alligators! We saw so many alligators of so many different sizes. We saw a large one snapping its jaw, we saw all sizes swimming and sunning, and Amy and I were beside ourselves when we saw a cluster of babies. In the gift shop Sarah was a goof, hiding in a rack of shirts so all we could see were her legs and feet. After that adventure, Sarah wanted to nap, so Amy and I went to the ocean. Amy was her usual mermaid self, and the waves were back to their normal rather gentle selves. Once we got cold we made our way to the hot tub and pool. Amy then made two new friends, much younger than herself. I think they were five. All of them had a great time, and the parents kept thanking Amy because their kids were having such a blast. 

Easter morning began as most vacation mornings, with Sarah sleeping in all the way to 6:30 and Amy sleeping until 8. Luckily Sarah didn’t notice anything odd as she crossed the living room to get to our room to hang out, talk about foxes, and watch her show. At 8 I told Amy there was a mess to clean up and she got a knowing gleam in her eyes. Amy gracefully found many jelly beans, plastic eggs, and chocolate eggs while leaving many that were in plain sight for Sarah to find. Carl Bunny hid items in varying levels of difficulty from over easy to eggspert. The final hardest items were hard for me to find too. Once I saw them I left them for Amy to find. They were some of the best hiding spots I have ever witnessed, including a sparkly pink foil wrapped egg nestled in a pink rose. 

May you find all of your eggs.