Welcome to another Grateful Heart Monday, a time I always reflect in writing on a piece of gratitude from my life, which for today is for my sister Laura’s recent visit to Toledo to spend a few days with me during the 2020 holiday season.
While it’s not often I get to see my sister, as she lives an exceptionally busy life, any time I do get to spend with her in person is something to be truly grateful in of itself. That being said, the last time I got to see her either on a visit to her in Summerville, SC, or to me here in Toledo, was all the way back in October of 2019 when I took a five-day vacation there. So, it’s been a good bit since we last spent any time together in person and thus made her visit over the December 10-14 weekend all the more special.
It’s probably why when she walked through those security doors in the baggage claim area in Detroit Metropolitan Airport on the night of her arrival, I was so excited that I gave her the biggest hug I could and that alone made me feel so very grateful! Our first night was a quick one though, as the only thing we did was dine on our favorite pizza here in Toledo from a place called Mama Mary’s. They’re the only one who serves pizza just like what we grew up with in New York and boy was it tasty for the both of us. We also enjoyed a piece of chocolate mint pie from Mayberry Diner before calling it a night.
The gratitude for her visit began to grow the next day when the weather remained decent for our afternoon trip to the Toledo Zoo. There we saw a number of the animals we both really like including some giraffes, big cats, and a polar bear. We also liked seeing the zoo’s huge holiday light festival at dusk before we left. Later that evening, my partner Chris made one of my sister and I’s favorite childhood dishes for us, that being a Mexican Tamale casserole, along with some homemade cornbread and fresh green beans. It was most certainly a delectable meal, which my sister appreciated immensely, especially when Chris surprised her with a dessert to end it with from a recipe she had seen on his social media weeks prior, that being these mini peanut butter crème pies. The night ended with all of us streaming an interesting movie on HBO Max titled The Witches.
I think the highlight of my sister’s trip here though came the next day when the two of us went to the Toledo Museum of Art together. It was nice to have those few hours with just her and me there walking around looking at all those amazing works of art and discussing each. The one that took our breath away the most was the thing we did when we first arrived, which was a limited exhibit there for only a few weeks more that was called Fireflies. It blew both of our minds away, as it was a very immersive piece of art that words really can’t describe and just has to be experienced! Later that night after a slight rest, Laura took Chris and I out to dinner to a wonderful gem of a restaurant here called Rosie’s Italian Kitchen. It’s one of my favorites for Italian fare and each of us absolutely loved our meals, our waitress named Janae, and the conversations and laughter we shared while we dined. Our evening continued after that with a drive down to the Milton/Weston vicinity where my friend Kelly and her husband Laron have a very incredible Christmas display that seems to grow bigger every single year. We were all thankful when Kelly and Laron allowed us to sit in their driveway and chat with them while we watched the synchronized show for a good bit of time. Trust me, it’s well worth the drive! When we finally returned home, we finished the evening out streaming another movie on HBO Max titled Downhill that had some pretty funny moments.
On Laura’s final day with me, we took a drive to Westlake, Ohio for a meal at the Cheesecake Factory. It’s one of her favorite restaurants, which unfortunately she doesn’t get to have very often as there isn’t one anywhere near her home. We had such a great meal and I think I was most happy with it because they had her favorite cheesecake available, a limited holiday one, Peppermint Bark! I also enjoyed walking around the shopping center there prior to the meal and after, experiencing some of the Christmas spirit with her, as it’s been many years since we spent any time together during a holiday season. Our night finished out with playing some new games that were pretty darn funny. One was called Exploding Cats and the other, Joking Hazard. I highly recommend either for entertainment purposes!
Parting is sweet sorrow though, as my sister’s trip came to an end the next morning. I was quite sad knowing it will be a good while until I get to see her again. It’s always hard to open my heart as much as I do during these visits with my only remaining family, but of course it’s well worth it, as evident by the many great memories I now have from another wonderful time with my sister Laura who means the world to me, and whom I’m very grateful took time out of her busy life to come see me during this 2020 holiday season.
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson
