We moved to Miami 2 1/2 years ago. And every now and then something will happen that will make me think we have become part of this community. Like the first time I went to Target and ran into two people I knew. Or how pretty much every time I go to the local grocery store now I see someone there I know. Now, granted, I don’t always acknowledge the person. It can depend on my mood, the person, and how much time I have. But it’s nice to know that I live somewhere that gives me the option of ignoring people. 🙂

The best sign that we are part of this community came the other day. I woke up Wednesday morning feeling nauseous. This is actually not abnormal for me, as when I’m tired, hungry, stressed, etc, I feel it in my stomach. So I ignored it and got Averi to school, then came home. Where within half an hour I was running for the bathroom. I tried to rest, but I had to keep getting up. You are welcome for being vague. 🙂

Finally at around noon I accepted the reality that this was something bigger then my lack of sleep the night before. I texted two friends to see if either of them could get Averi from school. They both said yes! One had an activity for her daughter after school and offered to get Averi into it as well. The other offered to take Averi back to her house and keep her for a few hours so I could keep resting. Well, yes and thank you! Another friend saw my post on Facebook and texted me to see if I was okay and offered to help if I needed it. She also told me she had an upset stomach too, and was very gassy. The next day all of them texted to see how I was doing, and if I needed any more help with Averi.

My biggest fear when we moved here was that I was losing my support system for Averi. Michael has always traveled a lot for work, and has to put in long hours when he is in town, so I have always depended on family and friends for backup. And while I do have some family here, none of them are close by and they all have very full plates. Knowing that Averi and I have friends here that are good enough friends that they will help us out at the last minute provides a huge sense of relief and feeling of community. And knowing that I have a friend here that is a good enough friend that she texts me about her gas (and if you knew how posh this friend is you would really understand what a big deal this is), makes me feel great. While feeling bad for her, of course. 🙂

So even though everyone checked in yesterday and offered help, I was feeling good enough to do everything myself. But I really wanted ginger ale to sip on during the day. I went to the grocery store (where while I didn’t know anyone, Averi saw a guy in a chefs coat and is now convinced it is someone from a cooking show) and bought a two liter bottle of it. And after one glass I realized I really didn’t like the taste of diet ginger ale. So today, feeling 100% better – because I know you wanted to make sure 🙂 – I went to Pinterest to see what else I could do with the ginger ale. I found an intriguing recipe for glazed carrots and one for bundt cake, but I didn’t want to actually cook.

But I was game for drinking! I found a really good looking recipe for a bourbon peach slush on Recipe Runner. And I happened to have two peaches that were about to go bad. The original recipe called for frozen peaches, but I just added ice cubes to make up for it. And then as I started to cut up the peaches I realized one of them actually already was bad. So I dumped in a carton of raspberries to make up for it.

The drink is great. Its light and frothy, with a slight tang from the raspberry and a fizz from the ginger ale. Perfect for summer evenings on the beach. With friends. Good friends. 🙂