15 Years Later... and it feels like Rain

Sitting on Miami Beach sipping a Tall Verona from Starbucks and thinking on how impossible it is almost to believe that fifteen years ago I was afraid Miami Beach would be wiped off the map forever. The night before I drove around with my ex-husband thinking we'd never see the bag lady on the corner by the gas station on Collins or the beautiful art deco revivals again.

I was wrong. Miami Beach survived, battered and torn apart but luckily for tourism all the photographers were in Homestead and not documenting the Trashing of Miami Beach. Ficus trees ripped out of the ground, all the signage from 41st Street blown to smithereens, EVERY light signal down, poles down, a friend on Flamingo Drive had her neighbors roof land in her pool. Miami Beach was a mess and yet.. it's beautiful now.

So is my beautiful 15 year old daughter who started school today at the Academy in the 10th grade. That night she lay underneath me, a baby about 7 months old as I felt the house shake and I nursed her off and on through the storm hoping if the roof caved in my body would protect her somewhat. I prayed a lot. And, part of me will never forget the awesome amazing sound of the surf pounding on the beach a few blocks away from where I lived. Wild night, wild storm... unreal. The beach the day before was wild too, took Miriam with me who was 5 who played and made airplane noises as she ran up and down the boardwalk while Sharon and I watched the waves and wondered.

So much for looking back. An old boyfriend of mine told me never to look back and he is right. Don't rethink the past and your decisions, remember them if you can and move on...

Feels like rain today on Miami Beach.. some shower somewhere moving inland, on an otherwise quiet morning in Paradise.

Bobbi.. 15 years later after Andrew changed my world.