It was a great lovefest of a week for reconnecting my family with them joining me in Palm Beach. Then, NYS Assemblywoman Rebecca Seawright gave and received lots of love from many friends at the Club Colette in the Eau Hotel.
With schools closed during Presidents’ Week, I was lucky enough to have visits from my grandchildren and children. But one of my grandchildren, Jonah, was singing in chapels in Rome and Sicily with his choir from St. Anthony’s, culminating with singing for the Pope. Sadly, with the Pope’s illness, they didn’t get to sing for him, but they did sing in one of the chapels in the Vatican and we all wish for the Pope’s full recovery.
But five of my grandchildren and their parents celebrated being together in Palm Beach. It was a time for me to leave behind the “grid of galas” and spend day and night with my treasures.
A highlight of the week was a four-hour journey on the Heron (heronluxury.com), a catamaran run by Captain Cameron out of the West Palm Beach harbor. The day was a chilly and breezy 70 degrees but my brave son Josh and his son Hudson did dive off the side for a swim and came up smiling, saying the water was warm, but there were no takers!
We spent lazy days on the beach and the pool taking in the sun and the company of each other in what my dad called about his being with my mom “satisfied silence.” Just being with them was great even if the kids were eternally on their iPhones watching who knows what — but apparently it was parent-approved content.
I had only visited the beach once before, so it was a great chance to kick up my feet and relax with the kids.
Another highlight of the week was going with my granddaughter Addy and my daughter Elizabeth to visit Meg Weinberger, who has become a state legislator. She is an extraordinary woman who rescues animals and has created a 10-acre farm in Palm Beach Gardens to protect giraffes, llamas, a cow and many horses!
It was great to catch up with her and hear about her travels and tales from Tallahassee, where she attends endless government meetings.
I was happy to hear that she’s doing fine with the freshmen legislators, both Democrats and Republicans working together side-by-side. How refreshing!
NYS Assemblywoman Rebecca Seawright held a fundraiser at the hotel where my kids were staying, so I stopped in before my grandson Blake’s birthday dinner at Nobu in the hotel.
It was great to see friends from New York who have transplanted for the winter season in Florida gathering together to support her, but the best part was when her husband of 31 years, Jay Hirshenson, stood up and made a tribute that I have to share:
A love note to my wife
Thirty one years they say, it seems like yesterday;
Your politics was appealing and Texas accent quite revealing;
Your passion for law, human and women’s rights;
made me know you were headed for new heights;
So we connected at the hip; and climbed aboard our ship;
We sailed from Queens to the City; and through neighborhoods quite pretty;
Landing on the upper east side; ready for the marriage ride;
A boy and a girl came about; two blessings we would shout and tout;
Much work, much school, much fun, so cool;
And then one day, you decided to run; and why not be the one;
Why and because? To make just laws!
To push for equal rights; to make the good fights;
On antisemitism, strongly outspoken,
On effective government, fix what’s broken,
Lead sponsor of the ERA; disabilities champion all the way;
Your light? no way to dim it;
Your sky? Has no limit!
Building on our love; it fits just like a glove;
So now it’s thirty one years they say; no longer yesterday;
Here’s to number thirty two; and even more because of you!
An added treat was when Blake, a freshman at Duke University, came for a fast visit. He stole away a few days to be with me and his other grandparents and parents, and we relished every minute with him and getting to hear about his adventures. He is now a fraternity man!
It was a real lovefest together with my children, and I felt like there was a hole in my heart when they left to go back to New York.
But I was lucky that my friend Steve Hartman had a birthday party that night and it eased the pain of their leaving.
It truly was a lovefest of a week!
Love to you, my dear readers.
