Florida in February was Fabulous

I just returned from a six-day vacation in Florida to visit my friends Susan and Jeff and Melinda and Dan. Three days at Sue’s; three days at Melinda’s.

 

And how nice was I? Giving Sue and Jeff the opportunity to pick me up from the airport – and Melinda the chance to take me back there on my way outta town? Doesn’t that sound nice to you?

 

Well, but hear me out. It was nice because neither one had the responsibility of driving to the airport twice. See? Nice.

 

Plus, I figured I wouldn’t annoy either couple if I didn’t overstay my welcome – hence the three-day visit rule.

 

But lemme tell you – six days just isn’t long enough.

 

As Sue pointed out, you’ve gotta take one whole day off for travel. Okay, that’s pretty much true. Counting getting to the airport and getting back home after the trip, my travel time was about 15 hours in total. So that leaves me with basically a five-day vacation.

 

Yep, not enough time.

 

But let’s look on the bright side. I had FIVE DAYS in Florida! It was sunny every single day. It was warm. Well, according to my hosts: warm-ish. It was in the 70s. Which is way warmer than it was in Ohio. After all, when I left there was still a little snow on the ground.

 

I never once resorted to wearing my jacket. I caught Melinda, on the other hand, wearing her sweatshirt on several occasions. Guess it’s true what they say about having “thinner blood” once one moves to a warmer state.

 

It was a relaxing vacation – with just enough variety to make it perfect for me. We ate out and ate in. Sue chopped and sliced and stirred and sauteed one evening and made a delicious chicken piccata. And then the next night I was at Melinda and Dan’s and we went out to eat at a great little Italian restaurant. What did Melinda order? Yep, you guessed it – chicken piccata!

 

One morning Melinda made French toast for breakfast, which was yummy. I’d love for the story to be circuitous and report that one morning Sue, Jeff and I went out to breakfast and, weirdly, we all ordered French toast. But stuff like that just doesn’t happen in Jane’s Domain. Unless, of course, we want to pretend that it did?

 

No? Well, okay, then.

 

But we did go to the ocean a couple of times. I got sand in my toes and had the chance to listen to the waves, which is one of my most favorite sounds.

 

The first time I got a little sunburnt and the next time I got zero sun because, well, I had a brand-new bottle of 70 SPF sunscreen. Plus, we had an umbrella that kept that pesky sunshine from reaching my burnt bits.

 

So, all in all, it was a delightful, albeit short stay in the Sunshine State. I loved spending time catching up with my friends. I had a great time relaxing and reading and watching some fun new shows on TV. We drank a few glasses of wine and even went shopping a time or two. And I took some wonderfully refreshing naps almost every day without the need to get up and immediately walk Maggie Minx while still half-asleep because we were on "Maggie Time" and not "Jane Time." 

 

Yeah, it was a great time!

 

And I have to admit – it’s great being back home, too. Why? Well, because I’m not crazy about living out of a suitcase – color-coded, organized packing cubes notwithstanding.

 

And, frankly, the older I get, the more I like my own little routine. That’s perhaps another way of saying I’m getting to be an old fogie who’s set in her ways.

 

Uh oh.

 

On the other hand, we all like coming home. Don’t we?

 

One of the interesting things I discovered when I was scanning my parents’ old travel photos is that my dad tended to take a few photos at the end of their trips of their house back in Alliance – or the cottage in Cape Cod. They considered both of those places “home.”

 

Weirdly, dad took a photo of his shed...!

And Dad always wrote “Home, Sweet Home” on the photo. Every time.

 

Now, sure – he was, most likely, using up the rest of the film since most of their trips were taken back in the day when you had to get the 35 mm film developed. And you couldn’t do that until you’d used up all 24- or 36-count of photos on the roll. (Dad would never have just wasted the last few pictures in order to get the film out of the camera to take to Foto-Mat to be developed.)

 

But to me it clearly demonstrated that while mom and dad loved to travel – they also loved coming back home.

 

So I’m going to think of coming home again as a good thing.

 

I feel renewed. And at peace. And ready to get back to my checklists of tasks to finish. And back to my daily dog-walking responsibilities. And meal preparations for one. And all that other stuff that sometimes feels like the “drudgery” of routine – but that can also be the good stuff that makes up our lives.

 

And maybe – just maybe – I feel the need for a little nap coming on. (Ooh, nice!)

 

Even if I am back on "Maggie Time" and have to walk Maggie Minx before I’m ready to get up and get going again.

 

Enjoy the rest of your day. I hope you do something nice for yourselves and feel that sense of renewal, whether it’s taking a break, a vacation – or even just an occasional nap. 

Enjoy!

Hit the Reset Button

 

I took a deliberate sabbatical this week. Seems weird – right? I mean, the first week of a New Year is supposed to be Go-Go-Go. You've gotta start on all those New Year’s Resolutions (if you made any).

 

It’s the big push to begin afresh in the new year.

 

If the Christmas decorations are still up, you need to take those down and pack them away for another year.

 

And if your fridge is still filled with holiday foods and leftovers, you need to clear those right on out to get started on that Keto / low carb/ meatless / no dairy, no gluten, no sugar / water-and-cardboard diet.

 

I even heard it’s supposed to be a no alcohol Dry January.

 

Aw, c’mon…

 

Well, actually, it has been Dry January in Jane’s Domain insofar as I haven’t had a glass of wine all week. Not because I’m adhering to a “rule” some influencer set, but because I’ve been hermit-ing it this week and I don’t often have a drink when I’m home by myself.

 

Nothin’ sadder than a hermit sitting all alone in the dark bingeing on a bottle of Ménage à Trois Soft Red blend while simultaneously binge-watching Firefly Lane on Netflix.

 

But, seriously, I’ve gotta tell you – it has been a transforming week for me.

 

See, I was supposed to be on vacation these first two weeks of January, but we had to cancel the trip. Only I forgot to cancel Maggie Minx’ reservation at her little doggie Spa ‘n’ Play. Rather than lose the deposit, I decided to bring her there for a few days so we could get a mutual break. She can run and play with her doggie friends – as well as get a bath and a canine mani-pedi – and I can hit the “Reset” button.

 

The past seven years have been filled with dog-walking, dog-feeding and dog-tending responsibilities. Except when we were on vacation. And even then it’s usually a frenetic time of packing, traveling and adjusting to a new time zone or a different climate – until it’s time to do it all in reverse.

 

Don’t get me wrong – I love Maggie Minx. And I love to travel. Visiting new places and spending time with the people I care about is absolutely essential for my soul. But there is a kind of stress involved with vacations. 

I’m not the kind of person who nonchalantly tosses a few necessities in a duffel bag and takes off. Not without first making and revising numerous lists and piling clothes and accessories on the spare room bed weeks before the trip in anticipation of what I absolutely can’t travel without.

 

What can I tell you – I’m admittedly a little high maintenance. Vince knew it – and just let me be me. He’d even ask me for his list of Pre-Trip “to-do’s” and would get them done without complaint. What a guy.

 

Anyway.

 

This sabbatical has been good for me.

 

I’ve slept better this week than I have in a long time. I haven’t had to get up before I’m ready to get up. I drink my morning coffee while contemplating my day and spending quiet time being grateful for my life and the people I have in it.

 

I’ve not been out of the house all week. Since I was supposed to be out of town, I had no lunches or dinners with friends scheduled. No appointments. And no trips to the library, post office or gas station to complete.

 

I’ve slowly de-Christmased my surroundings without rushing the process and feeling stressed.

 

I have made lists of things I’d like to accomplish this year. But I’ve tried to be realistic about how much I can accomplish and how I can manage smaller chunks rather than attempting to make big sweeping changes.

 

Look. I’m never going to be the water-and-cardboard-diet-loving kind of person. But I can make small changes that will improve my health. And I’m never going to live in an HGTV kind of home because I have junk closets (not just drawers). But I can tackle those closets a little at a time until I’m satisfied with what possessions I keep and how they are stored.

 

We spend so much of our adult lives trying to be, well, adults. Responsible. Taking care of the things we’re supposed to take care of. And most of the time, we do these things because we ARE adults and we take those responsibilities seriously.

 

If you’re a parent, well, forget about it. You won’t have this chance for many years. Same if you’re still working. If you take a week off and decide on a “staycation,” you’re still trying to get projects completed around the house that you can’t get done on the weekend.

 

So I get it. Not many people have this opportunity. But this little sabbatical of mine has been rare and wonderful and I’ve been so grateful I could manage it.

 

But now I’m starting to get the itch to go back to my “normal” life. To get out and about. To see my friends and catch up. And even to get back to the gym, which I started going back to a month ago to rebuild some lost muscle on these old bones.

 

And I have to say – I missed Maggie Minx more than I thought I would. Well, perhaps not the nightly restriction of rolling over without dislodging a sleepy Yorkie. But the rest of it. Our multiple daily walks. And having her warm little body nap on my legs while I read a book or binge-watch Netflix.

 

But I won’t be watching Firefly Lane. I finished it this week. And not that bottle of Ménage à Trois Soft Red blend. I’ll wait until I have a friend over to share it with.

 

If you ever get the chance to have a deliberate sabbatical – even if it’s just for a weekend – I highly recommend it.

 

Now if you’ll excuse me, it appears to be dog-walking time.

 

And just like that – sabbatical over.