2017 Life Logs, Day 322: Headed to Florida Tomorrow
Date: Saturday, November 18, 2017
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, Warmer, Rain Late; High 59, Low 34 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

You know it’s bad when you are writing about today and it is already tomorrow! Where did my day go? Zumba this morning, to Heather’s to see if there was anything I could do to help her get ready for the Florida Trip, to the town dump Swap Shop to unload some things from the back of my car, to the high school to watch Jonah run in an annual track meet, home to bake a pie for tonight’s Dining In group dinner, back to Heather’s to watch boys while she went on a run, and then to dinner. It was about 9:30 when I got home and since then I have been doing those last minute things one does before a trip. I’m taking one suitcase for my clothes and personal items and another huge suitcase that Justin will take back to Puerto Rico with him. I thought I could fit my personal suitcase inside the bigger one, but with all the food items I am taking with me for the week, I needed the second suitcase to fit it all in. The last couple of hours have been spent repacking. Now I think I am ready and I can focus on the upcoming week. Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco are flying into Fort Lauderdale on Florida’s east coast tomorrow evening and then have to drive the two hours across to the west coast. Tickets directly to Fort Myers were just too expensive from San Juan and last summer when we booked the tickets, this arrangement seemed okay. But now I hate that we must wait even three more hours to see them. I arrive in Fort Myers, along with the Goldstones, around 6:30 pm. Sam, Jonah, and Ollie will be asleep before Ziggy and Coco arrive, so the little cousins will have their reunion early Monday morning. But no matter how late they arrive, I’ll be waiting for that group hug. Hopefully that will help all the worry about their situation in Puerto Rico over the past two months to melt away.

The Dining In group I had dinner with tonight are all friends, names you will probably recognize as I have written about them often—Olivia and Terry White, Jane and Bruce Woodin, Peter (the clam man) and Karen Baranowski, and Midge and Bill Frieswyk. It is a wonderful group of friends and the monthly dinners are something I have recently joined and enjoy. Tonight’s dinner was at the Frieswyk’s and it was Thanksgiving dinner a few days early. The food was delicious and being together gave us all a chance to catch up on what has been happening since I had the group at my house for a paella dinner in late September. Since then the Whites have been to England, the Woodins have been to London and Paris, the Baranowskis have been to Brooklyn to spend a long weekend with their children and their families, and Midge spent some of the time in Dubai. She is a consultant who goes into international schools to evaluate them and help them make plans for improvement. Lots of interesting things to discuss. Thanks to the Frieswyks for hosting such a wonderful evening.