I have been hotel hopping since I was about 8 years old. When I was young, we visited a number of pretty snazzy hotels and resorts all over the Milwaukee and lower Wisconsin area. Mostly with my Papi while he worked. My sister and I would play in the pools, meet other kids on vacation, marvel at the opulence that was in every corner and on every wall of the hotel. We became professional hotel explorers.
It was fun to be rich, even if just for the weekend.
I had a déjà vu moment this past weekend as oldest girls, about the same age apart as my sister and I, frolicked during a night swim on my last vacation. It brought me back to swimming at the pools of my youth when my Papi would bring us, while he worked, to hotels for the weekend. I hadn’t remembered the similarities until just that moment.
My infatuation with hotels and weekend getaways was finally making sense. What if this was a way my father was telling to remember the best times of my childhood? Could it be he’s sending me a message? I fully believe in signs and have always believed in the way that things do happen for a reason.
Ten years ago, my Papi left two little girls on this Earth. We were his world I’ll always remember that for sure. But signs are everywhere telling me he hasn’t ever forgot us and even surfacing out memories I haven’t thought about in years.
Sisters are soulmates.
We used to stay at hotels because he would work as a mariachi singer and play Sunday brunches for these fancy hotels. The rooms were comped and food was always complementary. We enjoyed our weekends in the hot tubs and pools with him because it was much better than the fridged Wisconsin winters outside. We would have so much fun getting ice cream, using fancy glasses and running around exploring the hotel.
It all stopped so suddenly. Like over night. And then he was gone. And it happened no more. Because we weren’t rich. And that wasn’t what a normal kid did every weekend.
But the other night was magical. Watching my girls laugh, splash and soak up every moment of being a kid in a fancy hotel pool… Just like I did…once upon a time. And reminding me that my first friend, my oldest companion was my sister. I’ve been with her since day one. She knows what we’ve been through, what happened, how it felt and is my soulmate. Sisters are a little bit of childhood that can never be lost.
So on that night I was reminded that childhood memories are all for the making. There’s a small window to make them remember what their childhood felt like. But sisters will always be there to help you remember where you came from.
Happiest days of birth to my little sister, Gina. May happiness fill your soul and feed your life with pure bliss. xoxo
