March Madness....

Vero Beach, FL   March, 2011

It feels like madness, living in the cold and dark for months at a time. Short days and long nights; many feet of snow shoveled over time; loads of firewood brought in with cold hands and chattering teeth. And then, suddenly, there will be a day when the wind stops, the light shifts and there is some hope in the air. Before the really big changes come however, we are fortunate enough to be able to get on a plane and head south.

Magically transported from one end of the country to another in the air, pick up the bag, register for the car and then it arrives. The moment I have been dreaming of for months. The electric eye sees us, the doors automatically open-sliding mysteriously across the floor in front of us and there it is....that first draft of soothing, warm, humid air upon my face. My shoulders relax, my eyes brighten and my mouth moves in silence, "Thank you, thank you." This is the first moment when I know I don't have to work so hard to get to the next part of the day. No scraping of windshields, shoveling of walks, bulky coats and big boots. The warmth is not just a weather report, however. The warmth has become a part of me. It is therapeutic and healing. It sinks into my skin. I am breathing it; it is as though I can see it.  The feeling is comfortable and natural, like meeting a long lost friend after a long absence. It feels like all is well with the world.

In fact, my life is the same as it was before I walked through that door. My job prospects, my bank account, my health, my child, my home....they are all the same. However, I have been given a bonus; I have been given the gift of travel. The ability to leave it all behind and not think too much about everything "back there" in my life. Lengthy casual conversations with my love, long leisurely walks, everything we do has no deadline....it is like a grown-up goodie bag.

I will put a plug in for a terrific book, Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck. A wonderful tale of Steinbeck's trip around America in the 1960's. If you can't get away, this road-trip can be taken from your living room in front of a roaring fire with a cup of hot chocolate.


Expect good things.....