Heart, Mind, and Tarpon Turtle

Last night was an enjoyable experience. We had dinner at Tarpon Turtle. I think this was my forth time eating there. Every time, it has been with my parents…hehehe We all planned to meet there at 5:30. I arrived at 5:25ish and got a text message that the rest of them were stuck in traffic. They didn’t arrive until a little after 6, I believe. They had been in the car for over an hour…LOL I didn’t run into any traffic, myself.

I debated if I should go ahead and get a table without knowing when they’d arrive. The place wasn’t too busy. So I went ahead and got us a table after waiting about 10 minutes. They put me at a tiki table out by the water. It was a lovely evening to be by the lake instead of being in the dark dining room inside. As I sat there, I was visited by wildlife. Mostly the birds. But also some turtles.

I really didn’t have a clue how long it would take them to arrive, but I also didn’t want to fill up on an appetizer. So the waitress was kind enough to send me some chips and salsa to snack on while I waited. I was very grateful for her service last night. My family eventually arrived and I asked her if she could take our picture 🥰

More wildlife showed up throughout our time together. There was a huge alligator just coasting on by. It was too far out for me to grab a video or photo of it…hehehe But it was large enough to see from a distance. So, we know it was larger than most we typically see at places like where I live. There was also some human activity on the lake which included one of those light wing aircraft that can takeoff and land on water. We found that to be funny since we saw airplanes on my mom’s birthday last year too…LOL

Rather than me going all the way back to their house to continue our visit, we ended up staying at Tarpon Turtle and shared a dessert. All in all, I was personally at Tarpon Turtle for at least 2 hours. They were there for about an hour and a half, I suppose. It was a pleasant time of family fellowship.

This week, I’ve been working during the day and meeting up with the family for the evening. I’ll be going to my sister’s house tonight for a cookout. But then I’ll be staying the weekend there to optimize my time with the family. My heart knows that I should stay the next few nights even though my brain wants to be at home at night…LOL

I love to travel and spend time in hotels. So, I’ll tell my brain that it is staying in a “hotel” this weekend. My heart and mind do not always align and I have to trick myself sometimes…LOL j/k I’ve come to a place in my life where my heart is doing really well. Spending so much time with God these past few years has helped align my heart with His. He seems to be telling me that it is best to spend the weekend night’s at my sister’s house. So, that’s what I plan to do. My mind doesn’t seem to like that, though. Hence the mental trickery of “I’m staying in a hotel!” LOL

She has a lovely home and plenty of room for me. So it isn’t that I don’t want to stay at their house. If I did stay at home the next few nights, it just means some extra time driving back and forth. And I don’t mind that at all. I just know that my parents and sister would prefer that I stay with them. I’ll choose to make them happy; which in turn truly does make my heart happy. My mind can take the back seat on this one…hehehe

I wouldn’t say that I’m sacrificing anything for the ones I love. Since I truly love them, what I’m giving up isn’t really a sacrifice. Yes, it is in the earthly sense of the word. But my heart views it from a spiritual perspective. It’s more of an exchange, really. I’m exchanging the comfort of my own bed and my sense of “home” for the comfort my parents and sister feel when I’m just in another room safely sleeping. This will be the first time I’ve slept at my sister’s house. She’s been inviting me to for years…LOL

I can’t wait to see what the weekend has in store. And then I’ll be excited to write about it. I’m also looking forward to writing about my adventure with Cherie last weekend 🤩 I’m so grateful to have found my passion for blogging again. It’s one of my favorite hobbies ❤️