I Heart the Karlen Family

Very few times in my life have I been left without the proper words to describe something. The past week that I spent with the Karlen family was, for several days anyway, one of those instances. I couldn't for the life of me find the right words to describe the time spent with them and nothing irks me more than when I spin my wheels looking for the perfect adjective.

I went through the words PHENOMENAL, AWESOME, GROOVY, RADICAL, COWABUNGA, MAGNIFICENT, etc. etc. etc. My wheels spun and spun until I quit spinning the creative wheel, essentially giving up on how I would tell everyone about the Karlen family and how they treated us like part of their family.

Why was this important to me? Before March 16 I was pretty certain that I would never meet anyone else that would tremendously impact my life. Matter of fact, the thought of meeting someone life changing hadn't even occurred to me....I had met my wife and had a phenomenal support group...why would I be looking to meet new and awe-inspiring folks? There was no reason. Life was good.

But then it happened. Scott and Amy Karlen, and their daughters Rachel and Jessie, opened their South Florida home to a group of quirky Kansans for nearly a week, changing my life for the better. They provided a perfect setting for us to enjoy our vacation. Their home was located in a perfect area of the world. They were a perfect blend of awesome to mesh with our quirkyness.....

They carted us around, fed us, pampered us and just flat out saved one of us from impending death (I got stung by a jellyfish, which was a close call). Had we paid for these services, they still wouldn't have been near this well. In a nutshell, life in Florida was perfect.

So why couldn't I figure out the best way to describe them? My mom asked what they were like. My grandma always wants to know details. Boss would want to know these things...and so on and so on.

So I kept trying to describe them...and failing. "They are awesome Mom," I told my mother via cellphone. "It's pretty groovy here," I told my grandma. I tried and tried..and yet each time I tried, I failed. It was hard not to cringe when someone would ask, "So what are they like?" There wasn't a good answer to give....it felt wrong saying words that didn't quite do them justice.

So I gave up, knowing that next time someone asked, all I would say was "The trip was great but the family who treated us like kings and queens, and above all else they treated us like family, was undescribable."

And then someone asked me who the Karlen family was. And I said they were utterly undescribable because everything they did for us was absolutely perfect.

P.E.R.F.E.C.T.