When my son was very young, I was hospitalized a couple of times, and my friend Tey would take Gabe to her home for TLC. I remember the visceral longing in my arms for the feel of him; when Tey brought him to the hospital to visit, I felt such a rush of joy to have him in my arms again. Now that he is grown, I expect he would be weirded out to endure a hug as long as I want it to be, but my arms hardly ever yearn for that feel of him anymore. Dogs take up most of my affection now, and after all, Gabriel is a grown man. He isn't my little lovey-dovey toddler anymore.
We spent his last day taking a short trip to Granada and having a pricey lunch in a lovely hotel on the pedestrian mall that reminds me so much of Ft. Lauderdale. The restaurant is called Dario (presumably after the great Nicaraguan poet Rubén Darío) and includes a large inner courtyard garden, as seen here:
The view from our table.
I had beef, Gabe had red snapper, and the meal was divine! We enjoyed some nice cabernet:
And took a selfie to commemorate our final lunch for who knows how long...
Safe travels, my darling boy.
Remember this boy, Tey?
