Surprise!

I wanted to get away for a few days because I wanted to get Annette away for a few days.

For several months, we've known that Annette would be facing a pretty serious surgery. It's kind of a followup to the surgery she had in 2011 following her cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment. March was the projected time frame. Two weeks ago the surgeon's office called to let Annette know they'd had a cancellation in the doctor's schedule, and the surgery could happen November 22nd. Contemplating the understanding that her recovery would be long and difficult led me to the "ah-ha" moment that we should get away and have some fun before the not-so-fun time of recuperation began.

You see, I love my girl. For almost 38 years (2-1/2 dating and more than 35 married), I've tried to major on caring for her... providing for her... making life an adventure - and I wanted her to enjoy a few days away before the serious business of surgery became our short-term reality. I offered options. She chose. And off we went.

Saint Augustine was the destination. Knowing it was getting a little chilly for the beach, we opted to find a campground close to the old historic city. We found an open spot at Compass RV Park, made our reservation, got the coach ready, and set out for our short 90-mile drive.

We got settled at our site Friday and stayed in for the evening, having had the foresight to bring a frozen pizza and cookie dough along for the ride. After sleeping in on Saturday morning, we grabbed an Uber to the historic district. The plan was early lunch, take in the sights, early dinner, and an early evening.

Lunch was great. We strolled through the old city. We found a places-we've-been magnet for the coach. And - we're really excited about this - we found a really cool kite for the grands. As much as we were enjoying the time together, it was still overcast and cold. So I suggested an new plan: grab some takeout Mojo Old City BBQ, head back to the coach for a movie, take a nap, eat our barbecue, and call it a restful night. And then the phone rang.

When Lindsey calls, I let it ring for a while. Her ringtone is a recording of Lindsey singing, "I know that You are for me, I know that You are for me, I know that You will never forsake me in my weakness". That's a word that is encouraging for us these days, so I let it play before answering. And then I heard Lindsey asking, "What are you guys doing?" I explained, and she replied, "We're nine minutes away. We came over to surprise you guys."

And a good, relaxing day became a GREAT relaxing day.

George Bernard Shaw wrote, "A happy family is but an earlier heaven." This is such a YES for Annette and me. Being around our kids and their kids is like heaven for us. To know that our kids were joining us for a few hours... that they were driving 90 miles one way to hang out... that they were bringing Lorelai and Daisy to spend the afternoon and evening with us... brought sunshine to a cloudy day. I ran (part of the way) to the campground entrance to greet them and literally jumped up and down when I saw their car come around the corner.

Use the link to the right.

We made our way back to the historic district, and for just a while, we really did find sunshine on a cloudy! We strolled. Lorelai danced to the music of a street drummer. Watch Lorelai dance here. We had key lime pie. (Lorelai had the whipped cream.) We just enjoyed being together - because family is a little like an earlier heaven. And then we retreated to the warmth of the coach for real pizza and BBQ dinner before the kids put the little girls in PJs and headed for home.

Surprise! Yes, a good relaxing day became a great relaxing day.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said, "Nothing surprises me. One thing I don't have in my world is surprises". Oh, man - that's not me. Not at all. I LOVE surprises! Surprise parties, surprise gifts, surprise visits, and the surprise of hearing, "We're nine minutes away."

I hope we always long for the unexpected. I hope our lives continue to be filled with surprises. And I hope we never begin to view surprises as interruptions. Loving surprises is all a part of our spirit of adventure, I suppose. I hope the next surprise is just nine minutes away.

Our pond-side site at Compass RV Park.
I didn't fish.

Mimi couldn't come - but we wanted her to
know we were thinking about her.

We stopped in Ormond Beach and enjoyed great conversation
and a late lunch with long-time friends and pastor
Mark and Leigh and Marshall. This was like the whipped
cream on our key lime pie - a little extra blessing.

Good time with great friends.