For many years, my wife and I were caregivers for her mom, who had Senile Dementia. It is a disease that is emotionally draining, and heartbreaking for caregivers.

We were exhausted from caregiving while working, and we needed a vacation. We flew to Florida, but the very next morning there was a message on our hotel phone saying that my mother-in-law had fallen and needed an operation — we had to return home immediately.
I looked out the hotel window, and saw this scene, 2 chase lounges with what looked like bars falling across them. I made this image called “Vacation Denied”.

I reworked the color to capture the joy we had hoped to have on that vacation.
My dear mother-in-law has passed away, and we now live in Florida.

Gear: Nikon D80, 1/100 at f/7.1, ISO 400, Focal Length: 75mm, Lens: Nikkor 28-105 f/3.5-4.5, Metering Mode: Matrix