Ghostly Father's Day

Father's Day can be a bit daunting, with regards to finding something for my husband; gifts you can open.   I struggle with this because I don't really believe in giving someone a gift just to give a gift. That bothers me.  It's also difficult to do when you live a life like we do.  If you can afford clothing whenever you need it, or most anything for that matter, then why wait to buy.  That is my husband's philosophy.  I agree with part of that.  If I truly need something, I will go and get it.  


I am very grateful that we live a comfortable life.  I couldn't even imagine not having the basics.  We are very fortunate.  Unfortunately though this quality of lifestyle makes it difficult to find my husband gifts for the major events: his birthday (which now we've deemed a celebration of life and not a number), our anniversary, Christmas and Father's day.  If you can buy whatever you need and most of what you want what's left to give as a gift?  Not much.  Not much especially if your significant other doesn't really have any hobbies outside of watching his kids play sports and doing things with his family.  VERY commendable but, ...


I love him dearly but he is difficult to buy for.  Very difficult.  This year I have been stumped.  His celebration of life day was in May. I'll omit the number now.   For that he unwrapped an iPad, along with several other smaller gifts. Next comes Father's Day,  June 17th.  So I feel it is my duty to come up with just the right gifts in a very short amount of time.  


Half of the year I racked my brain trying to figure out what to get him for Father's Day.  Something unusual.  Pondering what he likes led me to Waverly Hills; Waverly Hills is in Louisville, Ky.  It is a sanatorium no longer in use.  Yes, it's haunted and they have tours.  Actually they have a variety of tours to choose from.  Some of these you spend the night.  The only problem is Waverly Hills is in Ky and we are in Ga.  We have family in Louisville but won't  be visiting for a few more weeks.  Thank God that didn't pan out.  I would hate to have to send him there by himself but, ...


How about a ghost tour here?  There were a couple tours here that I checked into.  One was in Decatur and the other in Roswell.  Roswell was closer to Canton but no tour on Sunday. I signed us up for a tour the Friday before.  We were all set.  


The kids knew but didn't say a word.  They were awesome about it.  I have a feeling though that even thinking about it would make it real so they opted out of that.  They never said they were scared but my 12 year old daughter kept asking those little questions like,"Are we going to see ghosts?" and "Do we go on the tour when it is dark?"  My son didn't really say anything except,"I'm not scared."  He's 15.


We left Friday around 6 PM for dinner.  We ate at a (surprise, surprise) Mexican restaurant in Roswell. Pretty good food and excellent margaritas :0).  Yes, margaritas.  After all, we are going on a ghost tour; nothing wrong with a little liquid courage! Finally we let Dad take a couple of stabs at figuring out why we were on this side of town.  Finally the flashlight clue gave it away.  He guessed one of his gifts.  Away we went.


The tour lasted 2 hours.  A lot of history, picture taking, and possibilities.  We only had a few paranormal events.  I heard careful whispers and my son witnessed the flicker of a street light.  After returning home, my husband was quick to download his pics and videos.  He thought he saw something in a couple of pictures.  According to the Roswell Ghost Tour people, they were probably nothing.  It did get my husband thinking though.  


We all had a great time and Father's Day was true to celebrating what Father's Day is all about. 

Fear of the Unknown

Being out in the ocean you never know what you might encounter; the brush of a crab, the sight of a dolphin fins or the dive bombing pelican.  The later I witnessed safely from my place on the beach, with the rest of the family enjoying the brief turbulence  of the waves.  Periodically I would look up from my book just to make certain everyone was where they should be.  Glancing up I had to do a double take to make certain I was seeing what I thought I was seeing.  Sure enough a pelican came barreling down on them.  It looked close but I was told later it had only gotten within 5 feet.  Boy was I glad I was still on the beach.  My son recanted the exact wingspan which was 15 feet.  He's also 13 so most things in his life are extended or stretched.  My husband is puzzled as to where this characteristic comes from.  :0)

Now my 10 year-old has not developed that style of telling stories.  Usually she just tells you as it is, without embellishment. Which is why I did believe what she told me but wasn't really able to offer anything up besides, "It's the ocean.  Things are going to brush up against you."  I think if she could see what it was she would have felt better about it.  She was, in her words, "Lightly pinched by a crab." Being out there in the ocean with her didn't make her feel any better and she carefully and methodically made her way to the beach.  I felt bad but also it was a little funny.  She wasn't hurt and the pinchers left no mark except on her pride. Something got the best of her and she didn't like it. 


 Later, due to the crab incident, my daughter felt the need for me to Google "The daily life of a crab." She wanted to make certain that crab, or any other crab for that matter, would not invade her space tomorrow.  "Crabs only come out at night when the tide comes in." This satisfied her until the next morning.  

We got up, ate breakfast and headed to the boardwalk leading to our spot on the beach. There is a small pond by the entrance to the boardwalk and occasionally you can see a turtle's head pop up and small fish swimming around.  My son pointed out the turtles, several of them this time.  As my daughter bent over to take a closer look my son added,"Hey, there's a crab in there too!  A BIG blue one!"  My cover story was blown but it was all okay in the end.  Her enthusiasm for the surf overwhelmed her fear of the sea creatures.  All is good.