Compromises - Cypress Gardens

"My way or the highway". That was the motto for most of my life before I got sober. You could either come along for the ride or hop off anytime you wanted. But don't expect me to change my mind for you. There were a couple notable exceptions, especially if you had something I wanted. But other than that it was my way.

So if you've been reading here for the last week or so you read about my first Latin Mass last week and how I was studying for and looking forward to going again this week. Well I haven't mentioned here yet that I'm married and have four children. One child (daughter) is out of college and living in Cincinnati. The second child (son) just graduated from high school and starts college in the Fall. Children three (son) and four (daughter) are on vacation with us. The choice today was my way (Latin Mass) or their way, the "regular" 11:30 Mass as a family. As much as I wanted to make the Latin Mass, I wanted to go to Mass as a family and I'm glad I did. The youngest really participated and my son, the one I hope will be my priest, always seems to like Mass.

After Mass we ran out to Cypress Gardens to check out the swamp. They are having some financial problems out there which resulted in them losing their crocodile collection. The boat ride through the swamp was cool and Charlie, our guide, was informative. The one thing I didn't know about cypress swamps was that the oil they release below water level forms a "slick" of sorts on top that prevents mosquito larvae from hatching so there were zero mosquitoes. We took a short carriage ride (available on Sundays) that Mary Kate just loved as she has always seemed to like horses.

After Cypress Gardens we came home to eat, went for a walk down the beach and stopped to visit with my in-laws. Then back up the beach to come home, played some games as a family and put the kids to bed. It just doesn't get any better than that.

If I had pressed for the 6:00 Latin Mass tonight the whole day would have been different, starting with the "discussion" this morning about what Mass I was going to. So I'll just have to find a Latin Mass back in the Philly area. Small price to pay, huh!