122117 SWB DIGITAL EDITION

26 x December 21, 2017 - January 3, 2018 x www.SouthwestOrlandoBulletin.com
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socking away money to buy it. In the
past five years, I happily wore Panama
hats and golf shorts to work.
I’ve lived my entire life on an island
that embraced me, but in one solitary
day, shook me with such defiant force
that I felt embarrassingly helpless.
Through the howling winds of Maria, I
could hear my mother island whisper,
“You must leave.”
Struggling to make sense of how to reroot
myself, I wondered where to go.
Anxious and alone, I made a trip to
Florida to seek shelter and employment.
I got lucky. I found a job right away. I
was delighted and hopeful for the first
time in weeks. Next, I had to find a home
for my wife and three children. My wife,
Julia, and I have been married 25 years,
and our only children are our loving and
loyal rescue dogs — Hannah, George
and Sadie.
Finding a suitable home for my family
was a challenge. No one would rent to
us. They said I had too many “children.”
No one wanted my princess, Hannah,
the beagle beauty; or much less, my
boy, George, a clumsy, friendly Lab who
loves to run on the beach. But the biggest
problem proved to be Sadie, a terrier
runaway we took in a few months ago.
She quickly got under our skins with her
street smarts.
I ran from one apartment complex to
the next with rental application in hand
and pictures of my three children. I was
rejected from every one of them. At best,
the property managers informed me they
would only allow two dogs. I was heartbroken.
Julia inconsolably said, “Come
home, honey, better we should struggle
here together than to be separated,” but I
knew we couldn’t make it on an island so
battered and devastated. As it stood, the
five of us had been living in a makeshift
shack constructed with wood salvaged
from the Ocean Air, and Christmas was
coming.
After a week of looking for housing,
I had no choice but to head home and
make the difficult decision of returning
without Sadie. I worried Julia would say,
“No way without Sadie.”
While at the front desk waiting to
check out, the clerk, a cheerful young
man, asked if I had enjoyed my stay.
“Yes,” I said. “I loved my room with
its awesome running water and air
conditioning.”
He laughed. He thought I was being
funny. I explained that where I live, we
were currently without basic utilities like
water and electricity. He asked if my
plan was to relocate. I replied I didn’t
know, and I shared my sad housing
predicament.
“Don’t go yet, stay another day,” he
quickly said. “I’ll call someone who may
be able to help. It’s my mother, who is a
total dog lover and a Realtor.”
I am amazed at how the universe delivers
in your desperate hour. Angela
the Realtor was wonderful. She moved
heaven and earth to find us a nice home
that would take the three dogs.
On Christmas morning, I watched
Hannah, George and Sadie run
around the big backyard. They were as
gleeful as real children opening gifts.
In the kitchen, I could hear Julia singing.
Exhaling, it occurred to me that
life often has a reset button that can
work miracles, but first we must climb
through the newly opened window to
reach it.
Honorable Mention
The Season of Giving
by Tatum Cempella
Southwest Orlando
Slowly, as the sun peeks out over the
softly swaying trees, the December sky
brightens. First it’s dim and untouched
by my loosely closed eyes, but gradually,
the air grows warmer, the sun
higher and suddenly a golden ray of
shimmering sun streams through my
window. This small bit of light opens
my eyes, and I burst out of bed in a
frenzy, the excitement almost making
me tremble.
It’s Christmas morning, the one and
only day of the year when everyone you
meet seems happy, like their hearts are
swelling with joy that had been shrouded
by the news and hate we experience every
other day of the year.
While my depiction of Christmas
morning has been true for 12 of my 13
Christmases, it was not the case for one.
That was the year I was diagnosed with
leukemia. I was only 2 years old, and
the weeks before Christmas and after
were spent in and out of the hospital.
Thankfully, I was well enough to come
LLC
Voted Top Doctor in
Orlando 2015 & 2016