Traveling with Mom

Happy Mother's Day! I wish you all a beautiful and wonderful Sunday with your family or loved ones. I'll be doing the same, but sadly, I won't be spending the day with my mom. We live in different cities, but I'm sure we'll stay in constant contact. In the meantime, I want to remember one of our family trips to a dreamlike place. My wife, my brother, and I decided it would be the best adventure at the time to help her cope with the grief of losing Dad. Of course, that was difficult, but Patanemo, in the state of Carabobo, Venezuela, had the power to make us forget our pain with its beautiful surroundings. These are some photos I have from that time 🙏

When my brother told me how far our inn was from Patanemo Bay, I got a little worried. However, he had a shortcut in mind that would guarantee a 15-minute walk for us guys, but I knew that with Mom, that walk would take half an hour, and what I was thinking about most was the return trip. My brother already knew the way because he had gone a year before. He told me not to worry, and even so, with my sense of adventure, I made things worse, although it turned out better in the end 🤣 I told them I wanted to see an area that was marked on the map, the lagoon area, which is actually part of San Esteban National Park, Bocaina Lagoon... Let me tell you, the walk took more than an hour 😅

The place is practically a large swamp, and as the sign at the entrance to this national park says, it's a pristine place. There's a lot of space, but only a small part retains water—very shallow water that, as you can see in the photos, creates a mirror of the sky and mountains on the ground, which is further enhanced by the presence of many flamingos. I think that's why this area appears on the map as Flamenco. My brother only knew the shortcut from the inn and had no idea how beautiful this road was, the original road for cars. That afternoon, only about two cars passed near us, but the immensity and beauty of the area were truly ours alone, and I swear we were happy. There was no way we wouldn't enjoy the long walk, even though it was hot, but in the end, the reward awaited us: a first glimpse of Patanemo Beach.

When we arrived at the bay, there were hardly any people around, but there were so many dogs that my mom (and I) felt a bit scared. The search for food they might have been doing with a crowd of people, they only did with us, and well, you know I'm Team Cats 😹 The most important thing that day was that we erased the pain of grief, at least while we were there. Of course, the memories of Dad never faded; it was impossible to stop talking about him during that time. We took this trip to Patanemo precisely because it was one of Dad's last wishes that he couldn't fulfill. Without realizing it, we chose the perfect place to have a good time. I had more photos of my mom smiling on this trip, but I already shared them in a Hive post at the time, and I only had these few left, though they're enough to express these thoughts...

_{I swore I'd never share this photo, but here it is}

There are parts of my body that should never be seen on Hive 🤣 but this photo is the only one I have left that reflects Mom's feelings on that trip to Patanemo, and this post is in her name and for the great love I have for her. I'm happy to say that since then we've had several family trips, and it hurts a little that we didn't have more while my dad was alive. We often get caught up in routine, finances, and the day-to-day grind, and we forget that we need family moments like this. But hey, it was never out of malice. The lesson is to take advantage of every possible opportunity to be together, and I think that's why I haven't felt well this weekend, because I failed in my attempt to visit her at our house or go out to eat together. Today it will have to be my brother's responsibility, but I'm sure we'll be able to get together this week, since I hope to bring her for my choir's 20th anniversary concert next Saturday.

All that's left for me to do is say goodbye, wishing you all the best, especially lots of love and enjoyable days with your mothers or children, if you have the chance to cherish them. Yes, a trip is a perfect way to celebrate family, but simply being at home, having a pleasant conversation, is all we need. I myself am eager to finish writing these words and go find my mom, but some things are preventing it, so today I'll settle for a video call and a few gifts from afar with my brother's help. Thank you for your love and support. We'll be reading each other in the comments and in the next post. Until then my dear people and happy and Sublime Sunday! 🙏