Well, I'm back in cold, dreary St. Louis after spending the weekend in sunny Florida. I had a really nice vacation over the holiday and spent two days on the beach. I'm feeling hella sun-kissed (as in, I got a bit of a tan). I met Joshua's parents. That was an experience. I liked his mother and his stepfather, but in a completely different way than I liked his father and stepmother.
Joy was nice, polite, and very politically correct. She didn't highlight the difference in our ages, and she only mentioned the difference in our races long enough to assure me that "she doesn't judge people based on color, so I shouldn't worry that she won't like me because I'm black." She irritates the hell out of Josh, which made him uptight, which made me uptight...but we got through it. She tried to pump me for information about his ex-wife, but since he and I don't really discuss Rosemary (other than the fact that I know her name, what caused their divorce, etc.), she gave me more information than I gave her. Joy's husband, Brian, was a very nice, soft-spoken gentleman. He likes to talk. I really enjoyed both of them, if only because I could see that they were trying to make me feel welcome, but they were just a little uncomfortable with the situation themselves. It was nice to see them make the effort.
Josh's dad, on the other hand, is likeable in a totally different way. He doesn't sugar coat or fluff things, and although he never commented on the age or race thing, (as far as approval or disapproval) we did talk about it. In fact, David and I talked about a lot of things--we talked for 5 or 6 hours. It was nice, though. I learned more about his upbringing, his family, his view on matters spiritual, and life in general. I think he got to know me pretty well, too. He and his wife, Veronica, have a beautiful home in Tampa, and they really love each other a lot. It's funny. They've been married since before I was born. LOL.
We went to Siesta Key Beach with Joy and Brian and it was lovely. The sand was really fine, like Mississippi clay, except not dirty, and not wet. It felt really good in between my toes. I waded into the Gulf a little bit, and collected some seashells. It was really nice. David and V took us to a very small beach, I don't remember the name Ben Davis or something like that, and the shelf was so shallow that I could have waded all the way out to the swimming buoys and only been waist high. It was great because Naomi could go out and play in it and didn't necessarily need an adult with her cuz the water was so shallow.
The drive both ways was really long and tedious, but going was worse because we had farther to go. It was nice because Josh and I had lots of hours to talk about...well, everything. I know I'm just being a goober, but I think we're at a turning point in our relationship. It's been over a year and for awhile it was like...ok, what are we doing here. I think we're really looking at long term committment. I say this because at a few points during the drive we discussed getting married, buying houses, and having children...and it wasn't a big deal. It was just...the natural progression of things. Of course, none of that will be happening for several years...if it ever does happen, but...it's a possibility. Wow. That's nuts.
