It was a cold week in January when I told my husband Troy might benefit from a one week vacation in Florida. He had been suffering from sinus congestion since December 15. By January 10 it was a full blown infection. Antibiotics again. After 4 hospitalizations in 2009 and many rounds of antibiotics, we were scared and tired at the prospect of infections in 2010. In an effort to find a new approach to getting over infections we decided to travel to a warmer climate.
How did we pull it off?
We decided around January 13th to go somewhere for two weeks. Two weeks turned into one month, and on January 26 Atil packed his car and drove to Miami. He found a 2 bedroom apartment in Miami Lakes, enrolled Troy in gymnastics and baseball. We joined him in February.
Residing in a major city, we took advantage of NBA games (Go Miami Heat!),
restaurants (Colley & Lincoln Avenue), exposure to the Spanish language (Mira, Troy!), and taking the subway and going for walks. It was Troy’s first exposure to homeless people sleeping on the streets, and us telling him not everyone has a kitchen and a bedroom. I realized how comfortable he is in Virginia Beach–so did he. A few times he asked for “sut and TV” on the couch in his playroom at home. Many times he asked me to call Henry’s mom and Emre’s mom so they could come over and play! My heart melted whenever he talked about his friends in Virginia Beach!
We saw friends from Datca and made new friends at gym class and baseball. We lived without a TV, and rented DVDs from the video store. Troy fell in love with Scooby doo DVD’s–no more Wonderpets or Diego! He saw teenagers skateboarding in the parking lot next to our apartment. For one week he said “I want a skateboard….” he never asked for a bike–just a skateboard! One night after dinner on Lincoln Ave in South Beach we were walking back to the car, we walked by a skate shop. He stopped, looked inside, and said “I think they have what I want here” and went in by himself! We had so much fun choosing a board for him and helmets and pads! He was so proud and the next day wanted to go to McDonald’s with his skateboard!
At the gym he was in a class with 5 year olds because he has good gymnastics skills, he had a lot of fun.
Baseball was a different story. The first time he came up to bat he hit the ball–then ran after the ball! The coaches were yelling “First base not after the ball!” A few times while he was playing midfield the baseball rolled right by him and he just looked at it. He was good at standing in midfield with his hands on his knees and asking for a popsicle at the
end of each game!
Going to a preschool twice a week was another first for Troy. He was so happy to go, it was a small preschool which has helped us better understand what type of environment he is comfortable in (no frills classrooms, lots of outdoor time, and small class size).
The time spent in Miami was a learning experience for all three of us. Just today Atil asked me if “..Next time we go to Miami would you like to live on a boat at the marina?” So we are dreaming about the next time we will go…..
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