The past week has been nice. The school system is off for spring break which means no classes and no place to be. We also found this occasion to play host to my parents. The now 70-year-old couple (shots in the arm) boarded a plane in Maryland and flew down here to spend time with the son and daughter-in-law they haven’t seen in almost 2 years. The visit entailed me playing chauffeur (despite being offered a car to drive) to my parents. You see, unlike the imaginary world of House Hunters International where people want an extra bedroom so they can have family stay with them, my parents sanely chose a hotel nearby.

We were able to spend the days together having brunch one day (prepared by Amanda) before spending the afternoon at the ballpark in Sarasota watching the O’s. We got up early one day to head out to Clearwater Beach and spend the day by the water… in the water if you’re Amanda in her new wetsuit. My father and I even did our favorite beach activity – play catch – something we’ve been doing since I could hold a ball. We even had time to spend the day by the pool just doing nothing but talking and reading.

We didn’t need to do much. We didn’t need to rush all over the state to stay entertained. We simply needed to spend time face to face catching up. We hope that this visit is just the beginning of more visits – both ways.