The Sun, The Sea, and My Grand Kids
by Lexi Gagnon
My name is Wayne Smith, I am married to my beautiful wife, Nancy Smith. Together we have a son, Bryant Smith. He has two girls and a boy, and all though one of his girls is only step he still loves her as his own. Bryant's wife, Charlie-Mae, moved up with her daughter, Lexi, about 5 or 6 years ago. To my grand kids, I am Grandpuz, or Fuz for short. Also they call Nancy, Grandmuz or Muz for short. As a grandparent, I adore my grand kids and love to spoil them.
In December of 2018, Bryant, Charlie, Nancy, and I took them to Cancun, Mexico as their "BIG" Christmas gift. As the date got closer and closer, the kids grew more and more nervous. They didn't know what to expect, Lexi and Piper were excited, but Macee seemed quite nervous. Our first flight wasn't to early , but we had to leave earlier to get to the airport on time to get through security and get lunch before getting on the plane. Since we had a layover, I ended up napping on the first flight and reading on the next. Once we landed in Mexico, it was so humid that turned my wavy white beard, into a frizzy, and fluffy blob on my chin. It didn't help that the wind was blowing.
It was so late at night that Macee and Lexi didn't even complain about their hair. With all the curls in Lexi's hair, I find that shocking. When we found our driver, we lazily dragged our bags to his van. Carlos, our driver, seemed a little off. As he loaded our bags into the back, the girls and Piper went to their seats, along with Bryant and Charlie. There were no more seats in the back so Nancy and I hopped into the front seat with Carlos. On the hour long drive to our hotel Nancy decide it was a good idea to ask Carlos, 50 million questions on what life is like in Mexico.
Once we got to the hotel, Piper and the girls grabbed their things and scurried like little mice straight into bed. For the first few days, we mostly hung out on the beach. Bryant and I continuously tried to find shade, since we are so pale. Even though Bryant's sun burns typically turn into tans and mine just turns back to white afterwords; There is a high chance it could turn into skin cancer.
I try to get these kids to go out and have fun more often. People tend to focus on how their life will be in the future, but if you don't have experiences than your life will be bland and tasteless. I had a pretty good life, but if I didn't do the things I did, if I didn't work as hard as I did, I would not be where I am today. I am not saying do what you want, but I am say listen to your gut and your heart. Trust your body. Stick with the people who help you through tough times.
This vacation with my son and his family, gave me more memories to hang on to, whether I am spending time with them or on my own. Bryant's kids are so important to me, I am so proud of those three that I would do anything for them. As they grow and become mature adults, I couldn't be more surprised at how well put together they are. I hope they grow up and have families of their own with people who love and care about them as much as I do.