Succesful Visit

As I write this, my sister Sue is at MIA (assuming Tri Rail was on time) awaiting her flight back to California.

Sue wrote a guide book to hosting a succesful estate sale, and I'm really proud of her. Right now, it's desk top published, but she's hoping to get it sold on a larger scale.

It occurred to me that there's another book my whole family could write: "How to plan and carry our a succesful family visit."

In the 31 years since my parents and I have lived in Florida, Sue has come each year. My sister Trudy moved here 20 years ago, so she hasn't been part of the Florida visit thing for some time.

In the 31 years, some visits have been terrific, others, not so much. This past one was wonderful.

I think I've figured it out. It's completely a matter of duration. Churchill's famous quote about guests, fish, and 3 days is true.

The best family visits are short and sweet.

We caught up, laughed, and shared memories, and it was all over before we annoyed each other.

I think this is particularly true as we age, and become more cranky. My mother is so old, she's reached the point where she wants family visits to last only a few HOURS!

So --this past one was delightful. D2 spent some quality time with her aunt, and we caught up,and celebrated an auspicious occasion --Mom's 90th. There were no arguments, tears, or moroseness.

A lovely family visit...