Sunset, Sunrise

It's D2's penultimate Spring Break. It seems last week we were hosting her high school prom pre party, and now somehow three years have come and gone, and she's nearly 3/4 through with college. She drove home from UF on Friday, with roommie Catherine and a friend named Alex, and Wifey and I hugged her like we hadn't seen her in forever, even though we were just in Gville 2 weeks before. D1 came over, with her old roommie Lauren, and the 5 of us decamped to Sushi Siam for some great Thai food and, for me, a couple of sakis...Lauren and Wifey grew close in Spring of '10, when Wifey moved in to help D1 recover from injuries in a car crash, while attending classes. Lauren completed her Masters in OT, and is just starting a new job in Philly, her adopted new city. Yesterday was the planned visit to the Olds, at MJH. D2 drove with Wifey, as she had dinner with her boyfriend's family in Aventura, and I fetched D1. D1 and I fetched my Ancient Mom, and took her outside to the gazebo. Mom was better than my visit 3 days before, but still largely in her own world of thoughts and dreams. The gazebo was buffeted by chilly winds, so we decamped inside. Soon after, Wifey, D2, my mother in law, and father in law joined us. My father in law was grim and unhappy. He refused at first to leave his room, but Wifey insisted. He's usually overjoyed to see his granddaughters, but his mood lately has soured. When Wifey asks about his activities, he answeres he's "rotting aVay." At the root of his issues is increasing incontinence, which embarrasses him greatly. He was always very vain about his physique and appearance -- a very physical man who won boxing championships in the DP camps after the War, and this loss of his physicality is hitting him very, very hard. We sat in the MJH lobby, with beautiful afternoon light, and my mother had her own conversation stream, while my deaf mother in law barked at Wifey, and the Ds tried to keep their grandparents smiling and happy. Mercifully, D2 announced she had to leave, and as I told her she could follow me from MJH back to the highway without traversing ghetto territories, it was a welcome excuse to leave. D2 headed north to AVentura, and Wifey and I dropped D1 at her apartment. The weather was clearing, and it occurred to me I needed to go somewhere that looked and smelled the opposite of the nursing home. I drove to Coconut Grove. We parked at Miami City Hall, which was originally built as the original Pan Am seaplane terminal. The whole area is deligtfully still undeveloped. We walked through a working boat yard to Scotty's Landing -- an outdoor place that's been there for years. The sun warmed us, and we sat by Sailboat Bay. The view was gorgeous, as always. After a couple of Stellas, my mood improved, and Wifey and I ate some stone crabs and grilled fish sandwiches and huge cut fries. Afterwards, we walked along the water, and reminisced. We passed the Chart House -- where we had a dinner in December, 1983 where I told her I was going snowmobiling in Wisconsin after my first set of law school finals. She had thought I would spend the time with her -- and she broke up with my afterwards. "Well look how things turned out!" I happily reminder her. We got back in my little girlie Lexus, and opened the sunroof, and tooled through the Grove. After 34 years in Miami, it's still my favorite place, and if there's a better way to spend a crisp afternoon than hanging in Coconut Grove, well, I haven't found it. As we neared the traffic circle at Cartegena Plaza, I slyly looked at Wifey and asked if she was feeling decadent. She was -- a little, she said. Where were we going? I pulled in front of Whip N Dip, and we had actual ice cream, instead of the far healthier frozen yogurt. What the hell -- it was that kind of afternoon. So the Olds slouch on, and we're still granted quality time. The Grove remains a historic, gorgeous, and magical place...