No sooner do the grandangels hit my condo, than the chant begins “we wanna swim”! My greatest joy at Diamond Beach is the heated indoor pool where year- round lap swimming is beyond comfortable (like a ginormous hot tub:) Grandbabies dream of coming down from chilly Austin and freezing Colorado to capture the feeling of summer on Thanksgiving. The water aerobics ladies move their act indoors for continued fitness as well. This is only the beginning of the blessing our island has to offer.

Moody Gardens offers pyramids filled with wildlife from all corners of the world. The Aquarium is a must see, and in my humble opinion rivals the Georgia Aquarium. We have a stingray petting zoo, a jellyfish petting zoo, and an overhead tunnel aquarium where sharks and manta rays glide peacefully from above. It’s reminiscent of snorkeling the Caymans and the Virgins without getting wet or worrying about the fish population becoming too interested in the grandbabies:)

Then there is the Rainforest Pyramid, a truly warming experience best visited on a cold winter day. The birdlife is as diverse as the Amazon, with a constant chorus of chirps, cheeps, and shrill squeals, that can only be rivaled by the grandbabies playing cards in the condo. It’s an education in international wildlife that makes this grandmother want to hop a flight with the whole family and head for the world’s mightiest river, the Amazon. Maybe someday when they’re a bit older. For now, we’re all feeling very blessed with this amazing place just blocks from Diamond Beach.

The big day begins, like most in America, with turkey and dressing in the oven. While Bo played with his BFF Fritz (the dachshund:) the girls rode their scooters up and down the hallway helping the neighbors get in the spirit. This is the day that Mamou spends in the kitchen while the rest of the fam enjoys their time together. Some things never change! I must admit it is a labor of love and I enjoyed every minute of it. Besides, I knew that the next day brought a beautiful buffet cooked by Courville’s, where I only had to show up. Every year Dad and Carol rent a huge country-western concert, bar-b-que venue so the kids, grandkids, and great grandkids can ride their scooters on the dance floor. Every year we all say that this is probably the last year, but amazingly my 93 year-old dad and his 80-something wife pull it off perfectly. My hats off to the matriarch and patriarch of our family. Here’s to many more years of this tradition.

It was a great time had by all, but my celebration didn’t end there. My Panama City Beach sister, Paige and her Bugg came for a visit. While their water is aqua and crystal clear, their island’s filled with shells, and their 12th floor condo has a 25-mile view of the other side of the gulf; they do enjoy visiting family here. The restaurants in Galveston are hard to beat, and the Seawall offers a great deal of diverse opportunity for exercise. Friends came from the inner-city with their bikes, and off we went to the 61st Street Pier for a few minutes of sharing hot chocolate and stories of the past. Our stories age into ever more interesting tales as we retell them. It’s what we enjoy most when we reach our retirement years. Sharing memories from the past, and making new ones as well!