coping.

tom and i drove to mikey's in orlando for the weekend.  friday was my day off but since i got absolutely no work done the night before, i worked in the morning as tom had some things to do on the boat anyway and we had a cummins tech over to check on the engine as well.  but, by early afternoon, both of us just wanted to get off the boat, something unheard of since we moved in six years ago.  we just needed to get away.  i had given all of consuelo's dog food and treats to kelly, the dockmaster, and had put away all of her things that i decided to hang on to for a while.  but tom and i still would turn around and expect to see her in her usual spots and there were other little things that reminded us of her, like opening the refrigerator door - she always took an interest in that.  consuelo always had laser focus especially when it came to food.  it was time to leave for a bit. 

my niece, annie, is a runner in her school's track team.  i thought it was pretty cool that she picked the sport that was my brother's when he was her age.  in any case, she had a big meet on saturday and was slated for four events:  the 4 x 800, 4 x 400, 1600 and 3200.  four events, three medals, a personal record in the event that she did not medal in  and 8 hours later - it was a whole day affair - my conclusion was that i probably would not do well as a track and field parent.  it was pretty brutal sitting all day at the stadium under the hot sun even with our hats and umbrellas (other people actually brought tents!), armed with coolers, snacks and lunch.  we were very pleased with her performance though and extremely proud of her. it is one of the reasons that tom and i made it a point to stay in cocoa for an extended period of time - to spend time with my family and to watch annie run.  my brother, mikey, who knows me so well, was impressed by my endurance and patience but i really had no wish to be elsewhere, to tell you the truth.  it was good to be somewhere different doing something else.  i may have even welcomed the discomfort because it kept me distracted, although at one point, in between annie's events, tom and i left the grandstand to go sit under a tree outside to get some respite from the sun burning down on all that concrete.  i can't think of anything more far removed from my world than that day at the showalter field in winter park, florida!  but here is our annie in fine form. 

like a gazelle :)

here is annie leading the pack in the 3200

it's amazing how much she looks like mikey at that age - deja vu!

we had dinner at a burger place after the meet and then went home.  everyone was hot and tired and ready for showers, annie most of all.  we all just parked ourselves in front of our respective computers for the rest of the night.  i went to bed later with the intention of watching an episode or two of game of thrones season 4 on my iPad and just relax.  i checked email first though and found one from mikey asking me to please check for ripe kiwi fruits in the fruit basket in the kitchen and put five or six of them in the fridge.  that really cracked me up.  mikey has a two-story house - the family sleeps upstairs but the guest room where tom and i were was downstairs.  so i hit reply, said "ok," pulled off my ear buds, got out of bed and padded over to the kitchen to check the kiwis.  at one time, it would have been decadent to actually have an intercom that connected the various rooms in a house - now we just text and email each other.  i just thought it was really funny. 

the next morning, we all had breakfast together (except for annie and i guess that at 17, why would one want to hang with a bunch of lame adults anyway?).  mikey cut up fruit (including the refrigerated kiwi) and made the coffee, marie made the waffles and tom fried up the bacon.  i did nothing at all in the kitchen - too crowded.  i ran a load of laundry and started packing up our stuff to leave.  it was a very domestic scene, very comfortable, very comforting. 

back home late this morning, it was good to open up the boat again and let the air run through it.  tom and i still turn around and expect consuelo to be there.  that will go on for a little while, i expect, but that's just how it goes.  tom worked on the engine and didn't even have to be told to change to ratty clothes.  i went to work.  later, we went for a walk around the village and then for another one after dinner.  today is day #3 without her.  life goes on, of course, but we miss her terribly.