Charm Citizen

8/8/88 – Today is August 8, or 8/8, and I’ll always remember where I was on 8/8/88. My family of origin was vacationing in my father’s home town of Cefalu on Italy’s Mediterranean coast. My dad had always wanted is to see his hometown and so my parents waited until we were deemed old enough to appreciate it. I was recently turned 9, my sister Gabrielle was 10, and my sister Gina celebrated her 14th birthday on the trip. It was a pretty crazy trip all together since my mom is afraid to fly and just getting there and back was an ordeal (think smoking section of a 1980’s aircraft), and traveling with 3 bratty kids throughout Italy but on that day, we were spending a quiet day on paddle boats near our weeklong beach front rental. We paddled out a distance to investigate the cliffs around the beach and looked down at the blue water which was probably 30 or 40 feet where we ended up. My sisters and I loved collecting floating pumice in the water and investigating sea life along the shore and on land, including squid and aloe Vera plants. That day, my aunt and cousin were also in town and they paddled over to see us. This is pretty amazing to me that they found us in a paddle boat in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea in the days before cell phones! I recall that we were commenting that the day was 8/8/88 which is why I think the day will always stick in my mind.

Shark Bracelet – John bought a shark bracelet off of Amazon after hearing about all the shark attacks on the east coast this summer. I’m not sure if the news reports are creating a lot of hype or if there really are more shark sightings and reports this year. I feel like there is always a ramp up of info about sharks during July’s psuedo holiday Shark Week. John was sucked in by all the shark talk and purchased a shark bracelet from the internet prior to our vacation. To be fair, there was a video of a man reeling in a decent size shark on the beach one block from where we stay in Ocean City, MD so I can understand his concern. Apparently the bracelet uses some sort of magnet or stone to keep sharks at a distance. I haven’t read about it myself but I think he said it provides some protection for up to 3ft or a meter in diameter from the person wearing it. I called it social distancing for sharks. My daughter Loren, or Roxy girl as I like to call her because she swims for hours in the ocean, wore it swimming yesterday. We can report no shifts of sharks and we plan to keep it that way!

Old Time Photos – Vacation mode is set to High and I took the girls and their cousin to Flashback Old Time Photos on 1st Street on the Ocean City Boardwalk. The girls wanted to update an old time photo they sat for when they were little. This time, their cousin was here for the fun. We got up early since their cousin has Loren, my oldest, was initially reluctant to join but when she found out that she could dress like a man instead of wearing an old time dress, she was game. There was some disagreement on the look and style but the photographers were flexible and let each girl pick what they wanted to wear. We ended up with two saloon girls, one sheriff, and one southern belle/Victorian girl. Side note: I was a little worried about wearing the costumes and monkey pox but decided not to let it deter us. In the end, the photos turned out well and the kids had fun!

Sinus Infection – My laryngitis and general unwell feeling hasn’t gone away so I finally got myself to an urgent care today. I thought I had an ear infection but the provider said that I likely had a sinus infection. My ears were probably hurting from the sinus pressure. I take sinus infections very seriously because I had one once when I was pregnant that got very out of control. Let’s just say I ended up in the ER three times in a week while in my third trimester. It was probably one of the sickest Ive ever been in my life. I was willing to take any medicine the doctor recommended to avoid an experience like I had in the past. I also think the infection is related to the poor air quality, heat, and pollen in the air we experienced last week. I ended up being prescribed a Zpack antibiotic in case it is a bacterial infection, steroids to help the laryngitis, and an inhaler for the crazy shortness of breath I’ve been experiencing. I have to say, I’m already feeling better! I don’t know if it’s psycho-somatic but I don’t care. I’m just happy to be turning the bend and feeling a little better on my vacation.

Rock painting – It was the first quiet night of our vacation so we busted out the rock painting kit Kendall got for her birthday. We soaked in the evening air and tranquil blobbed while getting creative. We will add our new creations to our garden at the beach.