Yesterday was a long and tiring day.....I had an appointment for a dental cleaning at 11:30 in Chiefland (50 min. drive from the island) That took about an hour, and then I had to be back there for 2:20 for the actual dentist exam.

We did take both Holly and Duncan with us and I have to say, Duncan is going to be a great traveler.  In between my appointments, we had to kill time.  So Ray and I got sandwiches to go and sat in a nice little park with picnic tables near the dentist office.  We fed Duncan his lunch and both him and Holly then laid down and took a snooze.  Ray had his USA Today crossword puzzle and I had my knitting.  The only thing was after a little while, in the direct sun, I thought how nice it would be to have our own lawn chairs to set up under the shade tree....so I told Ray that when we got home, we needed to toss our 2 lawn chairs into the trunk and leave them there for those kind of occasions.  All of a sudden, it triggered a memory of over 20 years ago with my dad and I really got to laughing......

My dad had a problem with Ankylosing Spondylitis.....a severe form of arthritis in his neck and upper back.  So walking long distances became more and more difficult for him as he got older.  I had friends visiting from Nova Scotia and we wanted to take them into Boston for the day and do all those "touristy" things with them.....Fanuiel Hall, Old Ironsides, etc. and we also wanted to go to Copley Plaza.  A very trendy, upscale, shopping mall.....with Neiman Marcus, Tiffany's.....you get the idea.  We'd invited my parents along too.....and what does my father have in his hand when we go to pick him up?  You guessed it.....a folding lawn chair.  I was in my mid to late 30's then and didn't find this the least bit amusing.  I said, "You can't be serious, Dad?  You're taking that with you?"  He chuckled and said, "Yeah, while you're shopping at that place I won't have to sit on an uncomfortable bench."  And he DID take it and he used it.....LOL.....yup, now I"m laughing, all these years later.  And the older I get, the more I understand his feelings on never caring what "other people thought."

So there he was, in this very swank shopping area, and he opens his lawn chair in the lobby area and proceeds to sit down and watch the world go by.  And yup, I was mortified.  But when I recalled this incident yesterday, I couldn't stop laughing.....I said to Ray, "And here "I" am, all these years later and I want to travel with lawn chairs in our trunk for JUST that purpose."  Not so sure I'll be setting it up near a Neiman Marcus though.  But guess my dad's genes do run strong in me after all.  And this was just another example of how people may leave us here on earth.....but they truly never, ever, really leave us.

Enjoy your Wednesday and look for some laughter today from your past memories.  See you tomorrow........