Florida

Well, here we are in sunny and horribly hot Florida, where the temperature during the day has been getting dangerously close to 100 degrees – every day. Ariana has learned a new meaning for “hot” as getting into a car that has been sitting in the sun for hours is a new experience for her. Baba-san solved the problem by telling me to put a towel over the car seat – now why couldn’t I have thought of that? Probably because I am in the middle of “jetlag hell”, sleeping one night 12 hours and the next 3, waking at 4 in the morning with an obscene amount of energy. It did, however, provide me with enough alone time to finish the new Harry Potter book, as gratefully Ariana stayed asleep.

 

Ariana has been having fun with all of the old people here – teasing them, doling out attention to only the chosen few. The more they demand it from her, the more she ignores them, only rewarding the calm and collected with a smile or wave. It is amazing how competitive they are with her “she smiled at me!”, “I think she is starting to recognize me”, “can I have a kiss? (to which Ariana replies with a serious, very serious glare)……..well, maybe next time”.

 

I do think it would be great if every senior residence instituted a program with the neighborhood schools because just seeing her makes most of them smile. And they don’t do that all that often, because their complaining takes up so much time. Mostly about the food – which deserves it, it is awful. You know there is a problem when even the instant mashed potatoes are inedible.

 

Olive Garden – here we come!!!