We’d only been in our motor home ten days when I packed a bag and hopped on Southwest Airlines for my second, annual, sister’s reunion. I felt bad (but only for a minute… guilt being such a useless emotion), leaving my sweetheart behind in the Texas heat while I went to cavort on Lake Michigan with my three younger sisters. However this had been planned way before our decision to go “full-time” in our RV.

I usually live an early to bed – early to rise lifestyle, but that quickly went out the window. We stayed up till all hours, sipping cocktails (okay, gulping) and catching-up, telling stories on each other and playing the latest and most wicked, version of Cards Against Humanity… all the while laughing like a pack of hyenas. One sister, a faithful church-goer, kept moaning, “Oh, I’m going to hell for this,” which made us laugh even harder!

Life has so many challenges. It’s best to take everything with a grain of salt… or a salted rim.

We stayed up really late and slept really late, exactly what vacations are for. That and a few glorious afternoons of window-shopping in beautiful little harbor villages, eating delicious lunches and taking long walks along the piers, looking at the boats. We reminisced about growing up on the water and compared notes about our different experiences. There’s a 14-year age span between the oldest and the youngest of us, and we lived very different lives.

Lake Michigan was a calm blue ocean, without the salt. Now that I am back in Texas, I miss all of that cool water. It was 105 degrees today… a perfect day to stay indoors and organize, dreaming of cooler weather. We will be heading that way next week, but we have one important commitment before we leave: the PAY IT FORWARD benefit on Thursday, August 3rd.

After an accident resulted in his paralysis, my dear friend’s son, Daniel Curtis, began hosting this fundraiser “to help promote awareness about the spinal cord injury community while enjoying great people, the best food in Austin, hand-crafted cocktails and lively entertainment.”

This year Austin’s very own Rotel & the Hot Tomatoes are playing. Daniel’s intention is two-fold: to help others and to repay all the help, love, and support he’s received.

If you are in Austin that night, please join me. Tickets will be available both online and at the door. I’d love to see you there. After all, it’s the hottest ticket in town!