Look up!

Ladies (and the ocassional gentleman),

How much fun is it to travel with your little sisters, one on her very first airline ride ever on her way to see the Ocean for the first time in her life!
Her enthusiasm was contagious! Sitting by the window, the joy was overwhelming as the plane turned, descending into Fort Myers, Florida and the Coastline appeared.


These three girls may have grown up on the "wrong side of the tracks" but this day, we were on the right side of the plane, getting a glimpse of good things to come!


The beauty of this dream-come-true was only surpassed by the reality of the colors, the sound, and the feel of the warm Gulf water washing over our feet. It is amazing to discover that the hardships of life are necessary to really appreciate the glorious beauty we see when we lift our eyes from our pain and look up!

We ate, we swam, we laughed, we played! We talked of old times and of coming good times. We spoke of the bondage that alcohol addiction creates and rejoiced for the joy of freedom, if only you choose it! Choices! Never, as children, did we ever imagine that the world was filled with such beauty! Never, would we have invited a friend to our turbulent rented homes, the unpredictability of an alcoholic rage was....well...predictable. Yes, the unspoken realities of a childhood lost travel the distance of life with you, always. Still, miracles happen; where friends were once univited, my grown daughter traveled this journey with us! No need for shame, no dread or fear. For certainly, generational curses have been broken!

Never could I have imagined that sisters, once held captive, would travel so far; so distanced from the memories of what was not, yet, sitting so happily in the lap of what came to be! While the "elephant in the living room" may have prevented any childhood bonding, Marco Island reminded us that "Having never bonded as children, I'm even more fortunate to have this special memory of bonding with you in Marco as adults who choose to have each other in our lives." (written by my sister, Dixie)

So as you look up today and thank God for the blessings in your life, continue to remember, and never forget, it is when you look up that you discover the firm foundation you are standing on!