This week I have been in St. Simons Island, Georgia for an annual conference. I have been attending this conference for twelve years, and before Alina and Mac were school age we would take them and make it a family Spring vacation. This time last year, at the start of what became a tumultuous year, I took Cal along in a last minute decision that I never regretted. Last year I asked the Jekyll Island Club (the location of the conference varies between Jekyll and St. Simons) for a good sitter for the few hours each day I was involved in the conference. They referred me to Dorothy Carswell, a retired teacher, author and supporter of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. She gave Cal, who was only two and a half, such a good experience I promised myself I would try to take Alina and Mac out of school to see the center and to spend some good quality time together.
What I forgot was how much they remembered about St. Simons, and of all the good times we had there in years past. Around every corner was a memory, and a shared story (Alina: "Daddy, there's where you threw up that time!").
We just got back from three nights there, and it was such a good experience for all four of us. The way I figure, making new memories there is the best remedy! McP
