Far and Away
One of the best gifts I can remember getting is a trip to St. Petersburg, FL with Taylor, Maggie, C.W. and Sharon Campbell, Coby, Campbell, Kathi Jones, Gary, and me.
2009 began with a fall that broke my left foot. At least I could still drive; I was doing my best to take care of our mother and stepfather, so the broken foot put a lot more stress on me. Our mother and stepfather went into the hospital about the same time, and while there, the doctor told me that Mother and our stepfather could not take care of themselves anymore and must be placed in a facility to care for them 24/7. Our mother and stepfather went into a nursing home one day apart in April of that year. Mother had to be kept in the hospital an extra night because there were tornadoes all around, and they would not take the chance on bringing her to the nursing home during the storms.
From April 1 until September of that year, Kathi and I did our best to meet the needs of our mother and stepfather. Our stepfather passed away on 9-9-2009 and our mother passed away 10-10-2009 - a month and one day apart. Needless to say, it was a crazy couple of months for us.
Maggie and Taylor gifted us plane tickets and a couple of nights stay at the Vanoy Hotel in St. Petersburg, FL for Christmas that year. The weather was warm and sunny. The Hotel was very beautifully decorated for Christmas, and we enjoyed the lights and decorations so much. After the very hard year that we had been through, it was a lovely time to spend with family with no stress and no worries if something would happen to our family while we were gone.
I will always be grateful for the gift of this trip to Florida after a very hard year.
