Saturday, May 7, 2016

So, What Does M♥ther's Day Have To Do With The OBX?

'Splain, Lucy. Okay, okay; I'll try…but you'll have to connect the dots, where my explanations are lacking. Deal? Ooooh-kay…

Mother's Day is one of those bittersweet celebratory occasions. Sometimes bitter and sweet, all rolled in one. You know. Bitter for the Moms 'n' Grans we miss but sweet for the endless, loving memories we harbor. Tomorrow shall be bitter for Khrista, Nicole and Mads, as Bonnie's demise was so shocking and so recent. But then, we hope Nic finds some sweetness in her first such occasion with Baby Dominic. And bitter for Evelyn, in the loss of Gina, so fresh in her heart and mind. Big heart holes. And a lot left to remaining children, as they try to help make the day easier. We never stop missing our loved ones.

Segue to my cousin, Chris, Evelyn's oldest and the godson of my parents, Gus 'n' Marge, whom you've met so many times, here on CMI. :-) Evelyn's hubby, Nunz, was Mom's first cousin, not to be confused with Uncle Nunz, my godfather and Mom's bro. What can I say? Nunzio was a popular Italian name, back in the day, and several family members on that side of my gene pool got lucky. Hahaha. I digress. Hadn't seen Chris in far too long, but he lives in Norfolk and occasions don't arise frequently. Sooo, this is how it goes…
A few weeks ago, Joe and I had been scoping condos in the OBX. We missed our Wild Horses of Corolla. Sometimes, one just needs a horse fix. On a Wednesday, we booked a beauty in Windswept, a favorite spot. By Friday, we were on our way, Mambo in tow. What a pleasure for Joe!! No customers to notify, only to have them in panic mode, needing this 'n' that before he left. There are great benefits to retirement. We took our time and landed in Exmore, VA, for the first night. There's that Italian restaurant previously mentioned, Little Italy, nearby; we enjoyed a great dinner. In the morning, we headed for a traditional pitstop in Cape Charles; it continues to thrive, with many new homes. More importantly, old mansions in restoration mode abound. Nice to see.














Then, we were off to a lunch date with Chris and his lovely wife, Carolyn. Destination? Just over the Bay-Bridge Tunnel in Virginia Beach, at a restaurant called Buoy 44. We sat waterside and Chris managed to get Mambo to the table. Hmmm. Seems he suddenly became a service hound. Hey, creativity runs in the family. Time flew. We had a great visit, before parting ways and finishing our trip to find equines. And ever so interesting is the fact that in this six-degrees-or-fewer-of separation world we live in, ND/CMI pal, Jane, is acquainted with Carolyn in real life!
Our condo didn't disappoint, especially when we arose to the magnificent sunrise over ocean waves, the next morning. We headed to the lovely Corolla beach and waited for the tide to go out, so that we could hit the sand highway in search of Mr. Ed. We found one loner. Next day, we repeated the drill and found a band of horses, the palomino stallion intent on chasing a rogue male. That chase provided me with my capture-of-the-trip, as Blackie headed into the dunes and then graced us with his gorgeous head and windswept mane for that unique Kodak moment in time.




As if our Spanish Mustang buddies weren't enough, Joe uncovered an already-painted shell in the dunes. Only in the OBX. Thanks C.W., whomever you are.
Now, where does "motherhood" fit into all this. Or, shall I say "parenthood." Well, we weren't in our borrowed digs for twenty-four hours, when Bri called to tell us he was in the local hospital. The infection he'd been fighting for weeks and weeks had worsened; he needed IV antibiotics and further tests. Then, a couple days later, he was transferred to Mt. Sinai in the city. It seemed that his mitral heart valve was threatened and the dreaded word, "surgery," was mentioned. That was it. We headed home, doing the trip in one day; next day, minus Mambo, we headed to NYC. By that time, the infection was under control and surgery was no longer emergent. Whew. BIG sigh of relief and major thanks to the Man upstairs. 

I guess the moral of the story is that motherhood/parenthood are life-long commitments. You can't sneak away from it if, G-d forbid, your children are in jeopardy. There's no retirement. Or job change. Or vacation, for that matter. Joe and I would have it no other way.

Later in the week during a conversation with Ev, she said,

"I always told my children, 'Every day is Mother's Day.'"

Man, did THAT sound familiar as one of the same mantras I raised the boys on.

We are exorbitantly grateful for Bri's restored health and nonetheless grateful for our beautiful-albeit-aborted time on one of our favorite places. That's right. Giving thanks…

And tomorrow, we head to our upstate family to celebrate Hallmark's designated day…

HAPPY MTHER'S DAY! 
Enjoy the photos. NIK, Joe and I always enjoy the hunt for inspiring things to share.
A FEW MORE RANDOMS