Early Birthday Celebration Weekend in Florida

I am settled back at home after the sweetest long weekend in Florida with my grandmother and Finn. While my heart always aches when we have to leave, I always arrive back in Charlotte feeling full of gratitude and with my priorities fine tuned.

Backstory: I have been trying to get us down to Florida since late February. I had to cancel a trip on Valentine’s weekend due to my back injury and after that flights skyrocketed in price/miles due to President’s Day weekend followed by the start of spring breaks around the country. The combination of people eager to travel after COVID life + fuel costs + reduced airline schedules have made for the most expensive flights that I have ever seen down to VPS.

My grandmother’s 92nd birthday is on April 9 so I was determined that I would make a trip work even if it meant driving the 9.5 hours to Florida. I checked flights no less than 50 times last week and just as I was ready to figure out the drive, I snagged a last-minute flight with miles. I booked the flight the day before we flew out and my grandmother was VERY happily surprised when I called to share the news that we would be there the next day!

FRIDAY

Friday was an easy travel day. Since our flight didn’t leave until 5:40p, I was able to make the day productive. I wrote a blog post, taught yoga, went for a stroller run, tidied the house, did laundry, packed and still made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare. Felt pretty proud of myself as I’m usually rushing around like a madwoman.

We arrived in Florida around 6:30p and one of my parents’ friends (who has also become a friend to me) picked us up at the airport. We swung into Publix to pick up a frozen pizza and a chopped salad kit for dinner.

Finn stayed up way past his bedtime playing with toys and spending time with Mema. He was so happy to be there.

SATURDAY

Saturday was cloudy and cool so I decided it would be our productive day. I did things like organize my grandmother’s pantry, fridge and freezer, clean, grocery shop, etc. I also got a great workout in at the small gym at her condo development. This was the first time I tried bringing Finn along for my workout and he was a rockstar. He watched a show on his tablet for the first 15 minutes while there were a couple of other people in there. Once the gym was empty I let him play with medicine balls, mimic movements I was doing, etc.

Finn spent a lot of time in Mema’s lap throughout the day. We were both cracking up at this position he worked himself into. He brought the pillows over and thought this was a good way to watch TV.

The clearing clouds made for a stunning sunset.

Dinner was spaghetti and salad (here’s my go-to spaghetti recipe). Finn told me it was his favorite meal of the trip. (The spaghetti, not the salad…of course.)

SUNDAY

Finn woke me up at 6:45a on Sunday saying, “Mommy, it’s sunny. Let’s get up.” After breakfast for both of us and a run/walk for me, we hit the beach.

I haven’t seen the water this clear and calm in quite a while.

Finn wasted no time finding a family with three girls to play with. The water temperature was only around 67 degrees but you’d never know it by watching Finn and the other kids. He eventually came to me shivering and ready for a break so we headed up to my grandmother’s condo to eat lunch.

Finn had an amazing buffet of leftover pizza, breaded fish filets, apples, cheese and chips.

We planned to head right back to the beach after lunch but I could tell Finn was feeling tired so I suggested we snuggle on the couch. He was sound asleep just moments later. I snoozed on and off with him for 45 minutes or so and then just laid there enjoying his sweet snuggles. While Finn will fall asleep in the car or stroller sometimes, he never traditionally naps these days.

He ended up sleeping for almost two hours. At one point I tried to gently wake him up and he slid off the couch and fell back asleep on me half standing up.

Once he did wake up, he wanted to go swim at the heated pool. We did that for a bit and then showered and picked up dinner.

My grandmother enjoys Panera so I placed a mobile order. I had the Baja Warm Bowl with Chicken.

MONDAY

Monday was the last full day of our trip and we took full advantage of the gorgeous weather and abundant sunshine. It was high 70s and low humidity with a light breeze. I never felt hot or cold – my favorite! We went for a walk in the morning and spent the rest of the day on the beach and at the pool.

One of Finn’s favorite games is “bounce catch” so we played together with this football for well over an hour. There was a huge shallow sandbar and Finn thought it was the best ever when I suggested playing bounce catch in the water.

There is something really special about watching a kid being a kid…100% present for the adventure right in front of them and full of joy.

After a stop by the heated pool for more swimming, we got cleaned up and ready to celebrate Mema’s birthday! Finn selected this blue on blue ensemble and stashed his snack “for the road” in his pocket. We picked up a Nothing Bundt Cake (white chocolate raspberry!), balloons, cards and an orchid.

My grandmother was sitting out on the balcony watching the sunset while I prepared dinner. Finn kept telling her we had a surprise for her but never spilled the beans. She couldn’t believe he kept the secret and was surprised when she came in for dinner and found the birthday celebration set up.

I made panko parmesan crusted chicken with steamed jasmine rice and sautéed green cabbage. My grandmother LOVES cabbage and requested that I make it as a side dish. She didn’t care what the main was, haha. Chicken is her favorite and you can never go wrong with crispy, cheesy chicken.

We had a really lovely dinner. The highlight was Mema opening the dancing, singing hamster card that Finn picked out for her. I had him decorate it with crayons and asked what he wanted me to write in it. He told me, “You’re the best grandma in all the cities.”

TUESDAY

Tuesday morning was a blur of cleaning up and packing. Before I knew it, it was time to head to the airport for our late morning flight.

It is never, ever easy to leave but I am so grateful for the precious time we get to spend with my incredibly special grandmother and the memories that we make.

Travel back to Charlotte was a breeze. Finn was WORN OUT from all of the Florida fun and happily ate snacks and watched shows on his tablet for the whole flight.

Once we got home, Finn and I were hanging out on the couch chatting while we waited for his dad to pick him up. I asked him what his favorite part of Florida was and he said, “hanging out with Mema.”

I’m already looking forward to our next trip…and my parents should be back in Florida for it!!! Counting my abundant blessings. <3

One final note, my grandmother is Peanut Butter Runner’s #1 fan and never misses a post.  If you’d like to drop her a happy 92nd birthday message in the comments below, I know she’ll love reading each and every one of them.