We have been here less than 24 hours, and already thoughts turn towards home.

It’s not that I’m not happy to be here, but the circumstances don’t warrant too much joy. Ivan threatens our home, and we love the boys so much that we are considering trekking back early. But for now it’s a wait and see game. The landlord called us again. She is going to take down the branch that assults our eaves and the shingles during every storm. The damage individually does not warrant much concern, but compounded, well, it could start a problem. As for now, the roof remains steady. We want to keep it that way. She insisted, again, that there are storm shutters up in the attic, beneath all the insulation, so I get to wander around in the heat to find them. Let’s hope they are actually there!

The trip down was uneventful. Preperations had to be made. We bought a lawnmower because Puck refuses to venture out back unless the grass is less than tall. The little booger will stand on the porch, staring insolently at you, daring you to make him move. I always do, with an insistant foot in the behind, but I would rather spare both of us the argument. So David, after a quick interview, raced around the lawn with the mower before taking a quick shower.
The tolls were suspended all the way down, which served us well. We thought it they were still suspended from Frances. Wrong. The Keys started to evacuate, so they freed up the tolls for the ones high tailing it out of South Florida. May I say that our timing is impeccable? It took a little longer than I wanted it to. Rush hour on 95 in Miami is not a pleasant experience. I have noticed that I become quite aggressive when dealing with other aggressive drivers. A recipie for disaster, but David reminds me that I am driving like an asshole and I try to calm down (it doesn’t work).
The work my uncle has done on his house for my grandparents is amazing. The garage is now a slick, air conditioned, comfortable bar. Fully stocked. Air conditioning. And all around the place they have hung pictures of their life together, when she was still mobile and they had lots of things to live for. There is a ramp up to their bedroom so she can drive her chair in and out, although she seems a little frightened of the movement. My uncle follows behind her, driving for her. The rest of their house is trashed. Everything my grandparents owned (96 boxes worth) is piled everywhere in the house, with just enough room between mountains of stuff to maneuver through the casa to be needed places, like the bathroom. But they are so proud of what they have done for my grandparents and I really do think that Gramps is relieved that he finally has help.
So how is she? She seems different to me. I don’t know how to express why, beyond the fact that she is wheel chair bound and her legs and feet are swollen almost beyond recognition. There is something faded about her. And the memory is starting to slip. Her eyes water all the time, not tears, just water. It’s hard to look at her and then look to the pictures on their walls. She seems like a stranger now. Quieter, more subdued, and less agressive towards life. Do I blame her for this? No, but I wish she would try. I don’t know what its like to have your body rebel wholly, but gods, if she just tried to move. Its hard, and I really didn’t let it move me until now, far away from the scent of her demise and the sad eyes of Gramps who is watching his wife of almost 50 years fade. It hurts. A lot. And I wish there was something I could do. But I am just going to let her know that I love her. That’s all I can do right now. I hope its enough.
We went to the hotel with Mom and Papa-san, and I found that Soozin e-mailed me. So we headed up to Ft. Lauderdale to see her spin at a club called Lush. It’s a sweet little place, funky furniture and all in blue and white. It was quite empty at first, but David and I conversed with Sarah, Soozin’s girlfriend, and had a great time. Soozin was surprised to see me. I can’t blame her for thinking that I would flake, but I made a point to make sure that what ever happened, I would see her. We have been friends for too long for me not to go the extra mile for her. She deserves that. She’s a great person with an amazing energy and I love her. While we don’t talk every week, or even every month, I know when it comes down to brass tacks that she would pull through for me. I would do the same for her. And she has found an amazing woman in Sarah, who is all pixie-ish and genuine. I just want to hug them both !

Things we have done today:
Bought my long incense !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 4 bundles of the stuff. I love this shit and whenever I come to Miami, I go to the Grove. Out Of Africa is a little shop in the Mayfair that sells all these sculptures from Africa, jewlery, and my long incense. I love the place and I always stock up when I come down.
Paid for a fucking internet connection - my parents thought the hotel we are in had it. It doesn’t, so we spent the afternoon driving around trying to pick one up. No deal. So I am sitting at Starbucks, where we paid to get on the web. I miss the shit out of Panera sometimes.
Ate at Wagons West - my favorite breakfast place. It’s like Pauly’s, on steroids. They give you a lot more food and the waitresses have a lot more attitude, but it was damn good.
Gone fucking moody 137387373 times - I think its stress and PMS. Poor David.
Hugged my mother - I love her dearly
Went to 2 Borders - one was to look for friends and the other was near Out of Africa, in Coconut Grove.
Now I am going to drive around the crazy masses, looking for something to do. It’s Miami, so it won’t be hard. More updates later.

And Chris- you da man!