Taking some lessons from Shayna we decided to take a long weekend get away and go to Put-In-Bay from Thursday to Sunday. We stopped at the on campus counseling center on the way up. Ty and I want to remove any friction Kayla might encounter in reaching out for help while she is at school. She is doing great, better than we could possibly have expected, but we want her to have every resource at her fingertips, in case she should need it. We met the counselor, a student assistant and toured their facility. We got the paperwork done and even set an initial appointment. This puts our minds a bit more at ease and I am so happy that Kayla was willing to do this.
As we enter the building I decide to get some cash for the upcoming weekend. As I approach the ATM, there is a dime laying on the floor. One of the signs many people ask for and receive is the finding of dimes. I have not asked for this particular sign preferring to remain open to any way Shayna can reach out to me, but I pick up the dime and acknowledge Shayna for having left it. This dime will have more significance, but I won’t know this until tomorrow. (Day 44).
We decided to make this trip for a few reasons. Kayla’s beach vacation was cut short by Shayna’s passing. Also, we need to take some time with just the three of us where we can have no distractions and adjust to the new normal of being a trio in the flesh with our spiritual buddy there with us. There is no “getting away” at this point. The sadness and longing will follow us wherever we go. Checking into a hotel without Shayna. Going to dinner and saying “three” instead of “four” in our party. All of this is weird. We speak of Shayna often though in happy memories. She made everything better. But, we can also have a good time with her just being there in spirit. The dinner is good, we relax in the hotel room catching some TV and just enjoying time with Kayla. We have made it through another day. Kayla starts school in just a couple of weeks. Wow. That is going to be hard.
We make the trip over to Port Clinton where our hotel is for the weekend. We drive around and find a restaurant with $5.00 hamburgers for tonight. It’s a winery with a great outdoor area and live music. It reminds me of some of the vineyards we visited in California.
