I had every intention of going on vacation.

I was going to lay in my swing sleeping and eating to my heart's content. Until life got in the way.

I had a book to read and review and four beautiful days to do it in. Glorious blue sky days to swim, barbecue, and play with the grands.

Then my brother had a stroke and my perspective changed. Instead, my days and nights became focused on him, his survival, and our shared memories. I have swept through every memory I had with him. I remembered old friends, Mary Lou, the Debbies, and the births of my nieces and nephew. I played in memories of 4am trips to the snow, graveyard recordings, (yes we were the origional ghost hunters) Denny's Restaurant disappearances, and even some nightmarish days of stabbings, separations, and in some cases divorce.

Then my puppy dog Bella had an occurrence of Glacoma in her good and only eye. An emergency vet appointment has us trading hour by hour medications.

Our usual Memorial Day vacation is spent playing at the beach and while I did miss it, I found beauty in helping our dog find ways to navigate her way around the house. I rediscovered the beauty in shared memories even if only one person remembers them, and thankfulness that we still can see my brother smile.