Just Grab a Kid and Go

On the Tarmac, Cozumel

8x8 oil on canvas

NFS

When our kids were younger, our family plus three others (college girlfriends a.k.a. some of my beloved twisted sisters) vacationed on a beach together for a week every summer, for 11 straight years. We were a small band of travelers in the beginning - 8 adults plus a couple of toddlers, give or take the odd visiting grandma or friend - and one of us moms was often sporting the maternity bathing-suit look. Eeeesch! We ventured no further than big, rambling houses on Texas beaches in the early years.

Our Lavagirl was the last baby born and once she turned 2, we all turned our eyes South of the Border - to the land of white sands, turquoise waters, and the all-inclusive resort with its endless buffets, spirits, activities, and housekeeping. By that time we numbered 15, plus or minus. And during those weeks, all the kids had 8 parents and the livin' was easy. My little traveling companion in this painting isn't mine but she sure felt like it. I'll never forget her fashionable turquoise straw cowboy hat that summer.