As I mentioned recently, I've been very much looking forward to some time off, after the various stresses of recent months. A long weekend is always welcome, though I did modify my planned 4-day weekend to become a 3.5-day one, and will be working Monday afternoon so I can take Tuesday afternoon off to go for the ultrasound my doctor wants me to have (just to make sure getting my effing period is not a symptom of Something More Happening). And hey, three and a half days is a lot better than two! I turned my alarm off this morning, facing four days without it, which always feels good.
There there's Key West. Before April started going wrong for Mom (first the back; then the fall), I had been thinking about going up to New England to visit my friends, as I like to do each year, but of course that plan got shelved. I'd still like to get there in 2025, but it's only very recently that I've felt comfortable with the idea of leaving her: like, she just started driving again a week ago, so this is new-new.
As an intermediate step, I've decided to join some friends (not sure how many people are coming, but around 10) on a short trip to Key West in a few weeks, which feels more manageable at this stage than a trip requiring an airplane. I've been to Key West before, but always taking the ferry, so I'm looking forward to driving this time.
The plan is that some of us* are leaving on Monday the 21st and making a slow, drive-and-shop trip down to Marathon, then spending the night before going on to KW on Tuesday. We're only staying until Friday, but that should be enough time to really relax, and I need it! The place we're staying has a little private beach, and my plan is to spend a lot of my time zoning out there, joined by as many people as want to do that.
*Some others are going to skip that and arrive on Tuesday.
One of the things I like about this trip is that it isn't plan-heavy. The idea is that people can do what they want, together or separately, during the day, and then gather for dinner in the evenings. I may well join people doing things during the day, but honestly, a few days of lazing around the beach or pool sounds marvelous. And perhaps I will take another picture that replaces my current Favorite Picture I Have Taken in Key West:
That's a gorgeous photo and it sounds like it will be a relaxing trip. It's great not to have a strict agenda. I always worried about leaving my mom, especially the last year of her life. I did it anyway with support from other family members, but it was hard.
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