Sanctuary

Wifey and I were always on the same page about our home: no matter where we lived, we wanted it to be a welcoming place --THE house among the Ds friends where the friends always gather.

It's pretty easy for us, as neither of us care too much about our stuff. Last week, while helping a friend with an estate sale, I marvelled at her collection of wine glasses, many of which cost her upwards of $100. Wifey and I still have the wine glasses we bought our first year together at Mr. Pottery -- I think the set of 30 cost about $50. As they break (as did 2 martini glasses during a crazier than standard party we hosted last month), we laugh. If I found $500 worth of broken glass on my patio, I think my chuckles would have been less apparent...

Anyway, we've been hosting our old friend Elizabeth lately. She always stays with us when she visits from Orlando, even though her sister and parents have 3 apartments in Miami. She tells us she always feels so welcome and restful here. We're proud of that.

I've known Elizabeth nearly 30 years, and never met her father. He died Saturday, at 83. The viewing was last night, and the interment (he wants a mausoleum) is today. Elizabeth put together a picture collage of her Dad, in our dining room. There were probably 50 photos of him -- one of which showed Elizabeth and her sister. His role as a father was not an essential element of who he was.

Still, Elizabeth and her sister Ruby loved him, and cared for him over the years.

And last night, Wifey and I went out to Tropical Chinese, and then to the viewing at the funeral home next door. The place was packed with visitors for Carlos. It was classic Miami: Cubans and Jews. Ruby's long time boyfriend Harris is Miami Beach born and bred, and many of the couple's friends, who now live in Grove Isle, were there.

I spotted the Cuban priest chatting with a 90 year old Jewish gaming matriarch, who I had met at UM functions...

So Elizabeth's Dad's life surely mattered to many. He just lived it very differently than I live mine.

My post mortem snapshots would be ALL, I hope, about my family and friends. Maybe one tiny one could show me in a suit as a lawyer -- no more than that!

Anyway, back to the house thing. So Elizabeth, Wifey, and I put in a good amount of porch sitting time. The night her Dad passed, I poured Elizabeth some wine, and we spoke of life, and her family.

She comes and goes at her leisure, like she lives here. And that makes me proud and happy.