November 30, 2022
St. Petersburg ➡️ Tampa ➡️ Lady Lakes ➡️ Titusville ➡️ Fort Pierce
With daily labyrinth adventures and good company every day, Wednesday morning arrived before I knew it. (Two days was NOT enough time with them). I’d already planned an early departure so I would have time to stop at some labyrinths on my drive north from St. Petersburg to Lady Lakes.
Lady Lakes is about 110 miles North (and slightly east) of St. Pete’s. It’s only about 2-2.5 hours away if you drive straight through, however I took about 4.5 hours to get there because I stopped at SIX labyrinths along the way (yippee).
The six labyrinth stops included:
- A butterfly labyrinth at Folly Farms Nature Preserve in Safety Harbor
- Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Safety Harbor
- Franciscan Center in Tampa
- Sykes Chapel at the University of Tampa
- Forest Hills Presbyterian Church in Tampa
- Unitarian Universalist Church of Tampa
Instead of talking about my labyrinth experiences, which I will do in future Labyrinth Lessons posts, I’ll tell you about my friend Deborah Aman, and why she means so much to me. Then you’ll understand why I was determined to visit her in Lady lake, FL., regardless of the drive time and distance.
Deborah was my son’s kindergarten teacher (and an absolute LIFESAVER during my son’s kindergarten year). That was over TWO decades ago (has it really be that long?), but I will always have an immense amount of love and gratitude for how she shepherded my family into the Montessori experience. She has supported us, inside and outside the classroom, well beyond Christopher’s kindergarten year.
When my daughter Hunter was born in the summer of 2001 after my son’s kindergarten year had ended, she came to visit us at our home. I am sure that somewhere I have pictures of her expertly holding my daughter Hunter in a baby sling while she puttered around my kitchen, helping me to get a meal on the table.
Even after she retired a few years later and moved to Florida, we stayed in touch. One of her daughters (Randi) was even our roommate briefly when she returned to Alaska after college. Her other daughter, Rhiannan, along with her cousin Jessica, stayed with us for a few days when they came to visit Alaska one summer. I have wonderful memories of playing Frisbee (Disc) Golf with them (including a vivid memory of me climbing a tree to retrieve my daughter’s disc because I didn’t want to have to tell her I lost it while she was at her dad’s house).
When I took my kids to Disneyworld in 2008, we had a chance to spend time with Deborah and her family again. Rhiannon, Randi and her boyfriend spent time with us at the Disney Parks, and we ended the day with a late dinner at Deborah and Randall’s home.
Here’s my point: No matter how infrequent our communications, Deborah’s always been ready with a warm smile and helping hand. She’s one of those people that you know you can aways count on for truth and kindness, and I cherish her and our friendship. Having even a little bit of time with her would be a precious gift, and I was looking forward to seeing her.
Fast forward to present day:
Deborah’s retired, or at least pretends to be, since she is currently home-schooling both her grandson and a neighbor’s son. Consequently, her classroom schedule meant she wasn’t free until 1:30 p.m., which gave me plenty of time to make the leisurely drive north, stopping at labyrinths along the way. However, once I arrived at her home in Lady Lakes, it became rapidly evident that time was NOT on my side since I had to return the rental car by 6:00 p.m.
Nonetheless, we had just enough time to catch up on the highlights of each other’s lives while I enjoyed a lovely homemade ravioli lunch she made. I heard firsthand from her grandson Jaxson about his teacher (Nana) and school, horseback riding lessons and his bicycle. I even managed to fit in a hello and hug to Deborah’s husband (Randall), who arrived home just as I was leaving.
I could have stayed talking to her/them for hours, but it was a two hour drive to the labyrinth in Titusville (95 miles away) and another 90 minutes (and 95 miles) to Fort Pierce.
I was *really* pushing the clock (and my rental Kia’s engine limits) by trying to stop at the Titusville labyrinth and still return the rental by 6:00 p.m., but I just *knew* I could make it if I really tried.
Turns out I was wrong. 🤷🏽♀️
I zipped to the Titusville labyrinth at St. Gabriels’s Episcopal Church, then left, disappointed and frustrated because the hedge borders were incomplete, making it difficult to discern where the correct path was. A glance at my Fitbit watch showed me that I was time was NOT on my side, so I zipped out of there as quickly as I had come.
Once back on the road, I realized that time was moving faster than me & my rental car. I pushed the limits of my rental Kia, but when I later looked at the clock and saw that it was already 5:00 p.m. and knew I still had more than an hour of driving before I would arrive in Ft. Pierce, I conceded to reality and called Budget, extending my rental car another 1/2 day.
Was it worth it to blitz across and up and down Florida over the space of just 4 days? ABSOLUTELY!
When I sift through the memories of time with Matt, Rachael, Deborah, Jackson & Randall, I am reminded that it is those brief touch points in time that matter so much.
It’s those memories, and many others, that are woven together to create the fabric of my amazing and wonderful life.
Thank you for being part of the experience. It really matters to me. I hope it means something to you, too.
