From left to right: Chris, Dirk, me, Dana, John, Doug, Denise, Aunt Colleen and Somara.
We weren’t able to attend the post-wedding brunch the next morning since we needed to get Nelson to the airport by 10 AM; I talked him into staying at the same hotel as us and share our rental car, getting him home was the least I could do. By now I had also mastered the I-4 route through the airport’s turnpike, no more driving the stop-and-go, construction-laden Sand Lake Boulevard despite it going in a straight line.
Then we got breakfast at the world’s tackiest McDonalds on International Drive, some rest in the hotel lobby using the free Wi-Fi before the other big event of this vacation…seeing members of the Maggi family I haven’t seen in over 22 years. I hadn’t been avoiding them, I just dropped off the face of the earth around college and became pre-occupied with myself for two decades. After being told by Brian about Uncle Skip’s death this Summer, I sent a card to Aunt Colleen letting her know how he’d be missed, how to contact me and since I would be in Orlando in the near future…was there a chance we could get together? The phone call I received from her in September with follow-up e-mails from Cousins Dana and Leesa really raised my spirits. Thus I was equally excited over this reunion; one can look forward to two events in one vacation.
Dana appeared first and I stupidly called her Denise; I know what they look like in my memory when we were teenagers, I just didn’t extrapolate adulthood changes. I met her husband Chris and her son Dirk (I could be wrong here). Denise and her husband John arrived with son Doug and Aunt Colleen! So much catching up! We treated them to dinner at a nearby Indian restaurant which was nice because Dana and Chris are vegetarians. The revelation of Denise and John being Lightning fans was rather amusing—when I pulled out my MacBook, they saw the Flyers logo and groaned over my choice team.
There were too many stories discussed to post and they’re too personal for a Web page. However, it was an awesome feeling to see these people, reconnect and, brace for the corniness, regain a piece of myself I felt was missing. I am really looking forward to seeing them again in the near future since Tampa isn’t very far from Orlando.