Just when I thought my life couldn't get any weirder . . .

We met Ray and Kraon (pronounced Crayon).

Dawn and I were just minding our own business when (isn't that how all the best stories start? Well except for the ones that start, "I couldn't believe it! It was just layin' there!" Oh! And, of course, the one that starts, "When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow.") a lady in a bright yellow swimsuit came over to us at our favorite beachside restaurant dive. She asked about Faith - if she was adopted.

We get this a lot. You wouldn't believe the confusion and total lack of dignity that can be caused by the sight of 2 white women walking around adoring a little brown child. Dawn is really very funny about it usually. She has a wealth of one-liners that she pulls out depending on just how red-necky or offensive or old or stupid the asker is. This time, though, for some reason, she just answered, "No. She's ours." The lady then did her best to convince us that she is not a bigot and didn't mean any offense and would never want to make us feel uncomfortable and blah, blah, blah. Again, we get this a lot. What we don't get a lot is what happened next.

She cried. She cried alone in her chair for a few minutes and then got it together and then verbally threw-up all over Dawn. She confessed that she had adopted a little girl that looked exactly like Faith 28 years ago. She had raised her as her own and dearly loved her like any good mother would love a baby. 3 years ago, her little girl who had grown up to be a beautiful woman died, inexplicably. She was a mess, of course.

Over the next few hours, we got to know Kraon and her husband Ray and their son Harrison. Here's where the weirdness really takes a turn. You all know how I change everyone's name, right? So it may be confusing both for you and me to keep this straight. Be patient. Deal?

OK. Baby Ray's name in real life is the same name that Harrison had when they adopted him. And Ray's name, well is Ray, the name that I've given my Baby Boy in this blog. Weird, right?



Faith totally took to Kraon who doted on her endlessly. They fished from the pier with a cane pole and raw shrimp that Kraon flirted out of a bartender. And by fishing, I mean that they got the bait a few inches from the surface of the water and managed to hook the fish jumping for it by its scales. Faith says that they caught, "What's the number after 8? 9? Yeah, we caught 9 fish!"

Ray, Kraon and Harrison are sweet souls and strangers no more. We've exchanged numbers and email addresses and made plans for boat rides.

My kids can always use another grandmother. Especially one who loves both of their mothers. And most especially one who fishes:)




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