Magic

Connecting with Family

The first stop of our winter vacation was a dinner visit to the Rifley Grandparents in Mobile. I have only been able to see them twice before, and Andrew and Claire have never met their biological paternal grandfather and his mom, their great grandmother.

Matt (my children's father) did not meet his

biological dad (Ron Rifley) until he was almost 18. His mom and dad split when he was two after his dad was stationed in Korea for a year. We had Emylie and Isaac when we passed through Alabama on our way to live in West Point, New York. Grandma Ruth was not there at that time, but we met her and Uncle Bob in Houston when we were living in San Antonio. Claire was there, but certainly too young to remember.

We ate Pizza with Grandpa Ron and he showed the kids his fishing tackle shed and shark teeth, etc. Then we went on our merry way. His house was pretty different from the last time I had seen it because he had a few feet of water in it from Hurricane Katrina. Though I have no personal connection with them, it is very important to me for my children to be aware of and connected to their family.

The next thing we did was meet with Aunt MaryAnne and Riley and Dustin. We ate dinner at Fridays. The next day we went to Kennedy Space Center. Andrew loved it. The younger ones did not get that much out of it. For the money they charged, there was not that much there. I can only make myself feel good about it as a donation to the Space program. Mostly, though, we got to hang out with MaryAnne. I don't know if she got any pictures with the twins. I don't have any. Maybe next time.

She had to go to work the next day, so she left at five.