Our kids were off from school (AGAIN!) and we decided to make the trip back to sunny Florida for Easter Break. Typically, on travel days with the kids, things in my household are tense. We are trying to get everything packed, double checked, all electronics charged while simultaneously checking to make sure the flight isn’t delayed.
Finally, the car was packed and we were on the way to Queens to my in-laws for a pizza lunch before our flight. As we are turning off our street, BANG, I got into my first car accident with another moving vehicle. It was my fault too. I pulled too far into the turning lane and struck the side of another family’s car – luckily at a very low speed. I felt sick to my stomach. I never make huge mistakes like this.
Thank goodness everyone was okay and we found some very ironic overlaps in life with the other family we had the accident with. We got back in the damaged car and drove to Queens to catch our flight which was still on time. Yet when we landed at West Palm Beach, we noticed that the electricity was completely out in the airport. Only the emergency lights were on. We thought, “how in the world did we just land on a plane with no electricity in the airport?” My family left for my aunt’s house while I stayed behind to wait for the luggage carousels to regain power. After an hour, the power was finally restored and I was confident the worst was behind us.
After an uneventful Easter Sunday where we got to enjoy Urban Air Adventure trampoline park in Wellington, FL, we picked up our rental car on Monday morning. I drove it back to my aunt’s house only to realize that it had a flat tire. I couldn’t believe it!
I dropped the car back off at Avis and got a replacement – a nice Jeep Grand Cherokee. Things were looking up! We had an awesome time at Drive Shack in West Palm Beach which is very much like a Top Golf with a digital twist. My kids really liked it a lot.
On Thursday night, we decided to make the drive down to Miami to check out a Marlins game. We got amazing seats 3 rows behind the home team dugout. One of the assistant managers/coaches was super cool and kept feeding game balls to kids behind the dugout. Both my kids came away with souvenirs which is always a great way to connect with young fans and keep them interested. Not knowing much about the Marlins before the trip, both my kids came away loving Jazz Chisholm Jr. I know Derek Jeter (one of my heroes) left the team recently, but just watching a game, I think they have a nice young base to build around. The rest of the trip was mixed with pool time, beach and seeing old friends and family. I got a chance to visit with my terminally ill Great Aunt who recently found out she has bone cancer. It is very interesting to sit with someone who knows the end is near, but is not out of it mentally. She kept saying that her best friend now is the corner of the ceiling because she lies there all day and looks at it. That really put a lot of things in perspective for me - especially that our car accident and flat tire were nothing in the scheme of things.
We got back without much delay on Saturday. I thought our luck finally turned, but then our toilet broke. What a metaphor for the shitty happenings that had been following us around all week.
As time has passed, I had more time to think about it; mistakes happen, everyone was safe and the toilet and car got fixed. Life will always have its missteps and down moments, but they are far outweighed by the blessings we have received. I’d much rather focus on the positives while I still can because the corner of the ceiling will come for all of us one day. Until then, keep on flushing!
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