Ok, lets start small with this.
Collectively each bit of my life has made me who I am. Well, each bit has a "name". There is "that summer" which describes the whole of high school. Then came "the marriage". Next There are the "lost years" which describe a section of about 2+ years where i lived in Salem, drinking and carousing with abandon. There was the "Rich incident", which covers the following 4-5 years, at which point i moved to the city cleaned up (sort of) and joined the land of the useful members of society. The "David fiasco" followed that and finally, i have drifted into the "old and settled". Why is this important? because you wont understand the rest of this post without this knowledge.
That summer, i had a circle of friends who i could never have lived without. Even had one of them not been part of it, life would be
radically different. I am now at peace with all of them, still friends and in some cases friends again. It's like having my heart returned to me, the missing pieces are all here. Yesterday I made
arrangements to hit the tavern with the summer girls (with the solo guy from that summer still not in the state with us, we are the summer girls for now). Shortly before the settled spouse and I were to leave, the man from the marriage showed up with my fabulous number one son. We all hung out. Later we got to the Tavern and there was
Starkweather, a huge player in the lost years telling me that i am going to miss Patrick's memorial (Patrick was THE player in the lost years). Now Nate was with us, who lived through the Rich incident and when i returned home to email (this) picture
to
Starkweather of Patrick (he will be taking this to the memorial and paying his respects for me) there was email in the in box from David... do you notice what i notice?
I had a fabulous time ALL DAY yesterday. I ran around with Jimmie and Duck, who are two of my very favorite people. I hung out with my high school friends, feeling how complete my life is with them in it. I chatted up David. I faced the lost years. My life really is complete, not just complete but continuous. Each bit, no matter how heinous it might have seemed at the time, has come full circle back to me to show me what a great life i do have. I have excellent friends whom i have known for ever, in some cases 20 years or more, I have a good man beside me, two of the best son's a woman could ever ask for who i am exceptionally proud of, and a generally great life.
So, sure sometimes i might think that this is the year of my discontent. Sometimes the weight of the losses oppress me. Sometimes i long for things that i
don't have a right to ask for. Then, sometimes life happens to make me realize what a
dumb ass i am.
BUT for the "Boon Companions", Indiana and Riley, it was all about fun! There was water to play in, slides to be slid down, high fives to be given out, shoulders to be rode upon, there were fish to look at, and manatees too, there was so much to see and do. There were sting rays to be pet, camels to ride, giraffe's to be fed! 
Yes, people asked if they are twins... they aren't even related except by bonds of love and friendship between families!
In the end we couldn't do it all, although we did most of it. The boys were bushed, and spent the car ride back to Bartow snoozing away. 
Indy loved seeing 
Indy rode in a dragon egg, crossed a rope bridge, and found some dragons for his dad and him to fly on:
While the little one rode the dragons with his dad, I got to ride this one:
And of course, what trip to the home of Budweiser would be complete without the Clydesdales? I figured that Sprint the Donkey was cooler though:
As much as I adore this sofa and love-seat set, i may have already discovered a small problem with the way i have the living room furniture arranged...
