The Door To Paradise

Last summer, when my daughter graduated high school, we took a little road trip. She and I had been kinda growing distant with all of the problems we had going on in our lives. In an attempt to avoid the pain of the separation and pending divorce, she just stayed gone all the time. Out with her boyfriend, or gone with friends. Anyplace was better than being at home for her at that time. 

So after graduation, we packed up and took a road trip to Pensacola Beach, Florida. It was a two day drive down and a two day drive back. We listened to great tunes, we laughed, we saw country we had never seen before and we reconnected and got to know each other again. And it was great. 

One of my favorite parts of any trip is throwing open the hotel room door and seeing the place that I will call home for however many days. Sometimes I am so disappointed that I can barely breathe, but then sometimes I see a view like this one. And I sigh and smile and realize that for a few days, I will be surrounded by beauty. This was by far the best view I have ever had on vacation. 

I would love to go back there today...and stay forever.

Conversations in the Night

"Beneath the light of the street lamps, conversation was held in hushed and muted tones. Wary eyes darted around to see if they were being watched by any of the inhabitants of the building where they had currently resided for a few months. 

Satisfied that no one was watching, the exchange was made in slow movements so the cameras would not pick them up. Once completed, they both smiled in the darkness. Each had what they wanted. One held a pocket full of money, the other a handful of pills. The transaction was complete and once again they had outwitted "the man" who sat at the top of the hill watching the monitors. 

Ahhh... rehab." ~~

........once you've been a rehab nurse, the mentality always sticks. You always see people trying to get the best of you even if they really aren't. Suspicion becomes the norm and it really never leaves.