In August 2015 we were on vacation in Florida. The first full day in Florida our whole family went on a bike ride down the trail on highway 30-A. The trail is a biking/walking/running trail that stretches the entire length of Highway 30-A. It is a full peleton of bikes when we go on a ride and it stretches out down the trail. KK's bike had a small bag on the front so I decided I would put my cell phone in the bag. Of course we can not go anywhere without being tethered to our lifelines, the smartphone. However, at some point on our trip to Grayton Beach my phone fell out of the bag without us knowing. An absolute disaster loomed on the horizon.
We had a great ride to Grayton General Store as I was oblivious to the fact that my life was about to fall apart due to the lost smartphone lying somewhere on the much traveled trail behind me. The warm sea breeze and taste of salt in the air is a drug to me. I love the warmth of the sun bathing my skin and in Florida, my heart is at home. So all is perfect in the universe for me. Then paradise was rocked to its core! As I sat at the picnic table outside the store drinking my cold Dr. Pepper, I realized my phone was gone. Now I went into panic mode. I rushed back down the trail searching for my phone as if my life depended on it. I searched the trail with the urgency of a leprechaun looking for his gold.
I rode hard like Lance Armstrong ( And yes I do still love Lance Armstrong) climbing the Alpe D'Huez with anger in my petals. I searched every inch of that trail twice. Back and forth I went scanning the trail for hope. But hope escaped me that day. The trail held no prize for me. My phone was lost for good it seemed. I was letting the lost phone control my mood. I was in paradise and all I could think of was what was lost. I went back on the bike thinking perhaps I had just missed it before.
Then Angie got a phone call. Someone had found my phone and called my wife's number from the phone. They told her they left it at a realtors office down the road and the realtor called us. I was so relieved. I could go on enjoying my vacation now that this trauma was over.
My In- laws were close to the realtor office so they drive to get it. When they pulled up in the drive of the house we were in at Blue Mountain Beach, I was excited. Disaster had been avoided. My mother- in- law handed me my beloved Samsung and I looked down at a crushed pitiful device that clearly was of no use. The couple that found it had actually driven over it first with their car. I was devastated.
What would I do without my phone? I didn't know if I could continue. My wife called the the AT&T office and found it would be a few days before I could get a new phone. So I was without my lifeline for an intolerable stretch of time.
With a heavy heart I went to the beach with the kids. I was having trouble not focusing on my crushed phone when Hayden, our family friend, found a sand dollar. We were all excited and began the search for more. We spent hours diving for these treasures of the sea. We found so many we lost count. We were so proud of ourselves. The kids felt like the world's greatest treasure hunters.
We left the beach exhausted but riding the joy of waves of time well spent together. We ended the day with dinner at Bayou Bill's and ice cream cones at Blue Mountain Creamery. What a beautifully full day. Moments I will never forget. By the time I layed down to sleep I had forgotten my crushed phone. I remembered how I used to spend all day on the beach as a child who never ever dreamed of a cell phone.
I learned valuable lessons that day:
1 . It is always good to keep perspective of what really matters.
2. What really is priceless is family, health and time well spent together.
3. Simple things make life better.
4. Laughter is greater than Silence
and most importantly...
5. SAND DOLLARS ARE GREATER THAN CELL PHONES!!!
It is vital to grasp every minute of life with family and squeeze it for every drop of life and love you can. We may never pass this way again. Every tick of the clock is so special and we must LIVE in each and every minute.
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