Vacation Snapshots in Words

Let me remember some moments from this week that might slip away if I don't record them here:

--Last night we played Pictionary.  My dad is surprisingly good at the drawing part.  He had trouble comprehending the rules, which do seem arbitrary--when do we roll the dice?  What do these categories mean?  He had to draw Dynotrux--I have no idea what this thing is--something from pop culture, I assume, since that was the category.  His dinosaur did not resemble anything when he drew it.  His teammate guessed and my dad said, "I haven't even drawn the head yet."  Then he proceeded to draw a truck, and the rest of his team shouted "Dynotrucks!"

--We've doing a variety of resort activities:  playing Bingo, playing Holiday Name that Tune, etc.  These events have been sparsely attended, which means my family members have won things:  a water bottle, a satchel, bragging rights, a free ice cream sundae, $20 food credit at the 2 restaurants.  I should not be so happy about this.

--Because these events have been sparsely attended, the employees who put these things together seem happier than usual to see us.  It doesn't feel like fake happiness, although I know it's in part because they are paid to be pleasant and personable.

--The weather has seemed more changeable than I expected.  Happily, that means that storms come and go, and there are some periods of intense sun for those of us pursuing a tan.  There are also periods of gloominess that enhance the cozy feelings of the season.

--I have really enjoyed the ability to sit on a balcony and gaze at the ocean.  I've watched the sky change and the ocean change, and it's been amazing--but in a different color palette than I'm used to.  Lots of grays and silvers and subdued blues--there's a slate and flintiness that keeps the colors away from the Caribbean colors on my side of the Florida coast.

--The views from the balcony are very cool.  We've seen flocks of pelicans flying past--including one with a fish in its claws.  We've had beautiful sunsets, and a sliver of moon setting, once the sun gets out of the way.

--One of the books I've been reading has been Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo, the Booker Prize winner along with Margaret Atwood.  When I first picked it up and flipped through it, I thought I wouldn't be able to make my way through it.  There's a startling lack of punctuation and capital letters, except when there's not, and that kind of inconsistency usually drives me nuts.  But the content is so good that I don't even notice.

--Most of the people in my family are beyond the age of enchantment.  It's been great being on vacation at a resort area where there are plenty of little ones who are still enchantable.  There's a melancholy, too--missing the times when we had enchanted littles amongst us.  But enchantment can still be found, even if we must now try harder for ourselves.  And if we can't manage it, we can smile at the wonder of others.