Meet Donald

Donald's a big bear of a man. Partially crippled after suffering two strokes and three heart attacks over the last twenty years, he walks slowly but lives fully. His bellowing voice and soulful laughter fills rooms. His toothless grin lights up faces across dinner tables and supermarket aisles. And once a year, he embarks upon a month-long visit to Rhode Island to spend time with his two girls.

I'm his oldest daughter, and my dad started these visits four years ago when I lived in a two bedroom apartment on my own. That empty bedroom was his ticket to an extended vacation from Bermuda, and it's become a highly anticipated tradition ever since. Unable to afford the rent in that apartment on my own, and after failed attempts at finding a roommate my dog wouldn't attack, I moved into the basement apartment here at Vineland. It's a happy home owned by my friends Heather and Tawn. This year marks my dad's second stay at Vineland, and after recent flooding we almost postponed his visit. We lost the basement apartment, and I've moved into the guest room until we rebuild. Heather and Tawn insisted, however, that we stick with tradition and have turned their office into a second guest room. Donald arrived safe and sound last night, and while he misses his Red Sox themed guest room, he's settling into the new room quite contently.

Donald coincides these visits to overlap his birthday and mine. This Friday he'll celebrate his 70th birthday. He'll celebrate the momentous occasion for the next four weeks here in Rhode Island, and we'll chronicle the stories in this blog.