The sound of my son happily humming in the pool should have been the beginning of our perfect vacation. Instead, it became the reason a stranger walked over to us, and everything changed in an instant.
For the first time in almost a year, my shoulders finally relaxed as I entered the hotel lobby. My husband, Jonathan, wheeled our suitcase behind me while our son, Noah, gripped my hand. Our son’s eyes widened with the kind of joy only a 10-year-old counting down 137 days can feel.
We’d saved for this summer vacation for almost a year so we could spend four days at a nice beachfront hotel.
« Mom, I can smell the pool! I can smell it! » Noah exclaimed.
