Halloween Coffee Share

Good morning, Everyone.

It is a chilly November dawn on Hilton Head Island. Being that we fell back in time last night, morning arrived just as my coffee sputtered down the Keurig. Join me for our coffee chat. 

If we were having coffee together, I would happily announce that my husband, Matt, and I are visiting our grandkids (daughter and son-in-law, too) for Halloween. Here is the big benefit to retirement—I can travel during non-peak periods. We took a two hour non-stop flight to Savannah, rented a car and a scooter so Matt could be better mobile, and secured an apartment with an ocean view through VRBO. I spent Halloween afternoon in Lily’s Kindergarten class as a volunteer supervising a Halloween craft center. It was so much fun meeting the little classmates and teachers in the beautiful Early Learning Center. The Island’s preschool and Kindergarten programs are in this one building. Halloween night was a hoot with our Little Mermaid and Batman. Teddy, age two, has discovered language and is in constant chatterbox mode. He pointed out the spooky, the silly, and the candy for each house in the neighborhood. Lily, age five, and thereby well versed in Halloween objectives, traveled with her pack of neighborhood friends. Adults followed along. Matt’s scooter was a hit, whereby he carried little hitchhikers along the way. It was a very hot and muggy evening, so pieces of costumes were being shed along the way. The mermaid wig was one of the casualties. 

We spent one day exploring physical therapy facilities. Matt is having his knee replaced in a few weeks and will require rehab while we stay on Hilton Head Island for two months after the holidays. There’s another retirement perk—I get to be a snowbird Nonny. We were successful in finding an appropriate facility. Playing in parks had taken up most of our time here. I have forgotten how much energy and time is spent with weekend birthday parties and football games. Cultivating friends and being part of the community is key to raising a family. 

If we were having coffee, I would report that I went on a wonderful walking tour with my friend, Lisa, to the Fire Island Lighthouse National Seashore. I am researching a new project involving the National Parks, but need to let it play out in my head before I can officially embark. I was so glad to have Lisa’s company since it was a nasty drizzly day and may have forfeited if I was going alone. It has been many years since my last visit. So much has been renovated, and the exhibits are incredibly well done and interesting. The local history pulses here. Because Lisa had volunteered, she knew a few of the people. I met the woman in charge of the newsletter. I may have volunteered myself as one of her staff writers.  

The sun is up. I’ll sign off here so I can get a beach walk in before the day gets cluttered.

As always, BIG THANK YOUs go out to, Eclectic Alli for managing Weekend Coffee Share.

Thank you for reading.

Have a good week, Everyone. Make it great!

Antoinette Truglio Martin is the author of Hug Everyone You Know: A Year of Community, Courage, and Cancer. The memoir is a wimpy patient’s journey through her first year of breast cancer treatment.

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