THE GIFT OF FAMILY

With the sun shining brightly and temperatures reaching to the upper eighties, it seemed to be a great day to go to the beach and get some much needed relaxation. The weekend has been very lively, reaching into the wee hours of each night. For me, it has definitely been the latest hours I have stayed up since coming down South. Therefore, why not go to the beach and try to catch an afternoon nap while getting some rays? Having two weddings in the next month, both near the Chicago area, I have told myself I WILL be the darkest person at these weddings! Well, darkest Caucasian. Living in Miami, there is no reason I should not have the best tan of my life. What would I tell people when they ask why I have no color to my skin? Therefore, like I always procrastinate, I am trying to hit the sandy beaches as much as possible in the next few days, and today proved to be a great day to get color. Lots of it. A nice, warm, red color all over the front half of my body.

After being at the beach most the day, my parking tolls were running out, forcing me to pay more or just return home. Today, Megan's family was to arrive, so I decided to just come back to the house and meet the McCarty gang. After returning home, I noticed Megan's car to be gone, then found out I had just missed them as they headed to the beach. I called Megan and she had just been honking at a huge van in South Beach, thinking it was me, later to realize it was a vacuuming company, or some sort of cleaner. We got a good laugh out of that. This gave me a chance to come home, catch up on some sleep and get cleaned up before they got back.

For dinner, we all went out to Havana Harry's, the local Cuban joint just to the south of our house a few miles. It was my first time to the restaurant, yet, proved to be one worth going back for. We all enjoyed huge plates full of tons of food, then shared god fellowship as we sat around the table and chatted for a bit before leaving.

It is fun to get to know the family of a room mate, as I am the only one that has had a guest in the house thus far. Stories always help one realize where a person came from, but meeting the important people in their lives sparks a deeper respect for where they came from and shows us who they came from. They will be in Southern Florida for the whole week, but are leaving the house for the Keys in the morning.