Florida is Overrated
Florida! Ahhh! May I please come bask in your sunshine and bury my toes in your soft sand? This Minnesota deep freeze has my bottom frozen to the permafrost seat in this block of ice I’m driving. It’s a depressing state of affairs when we say, “It’s warming up!” when the temps are inching up to +10 F.
It could be worse; at least it’s not forty below zero! Right? Does that make me feel one iota warmer? Nope. I’m still cold.
Just the thought of flip-flops and sun hats gets me checking out ticket prices to warm weather destinations. Costa Rica, Aruba, St. Thomas…don’t those sunlit names just slide on your tongue like rich and creamy truffles? I dream of dozing in a pool chair like a cat in a sunbeam. How long would it take to thaw my icy bones?
Minnesotans head South in the wintery months like flocks of migrating birds, hardly leaving a wisp of a thought behind them that they ever knew a snowman. I see their sunburnt faces smiling at me through Facebook and Instagram and wonder, do any of those melting Minnesota icicles think of me even once shivering in raw and icy winds? Yeah, I guess not.
Years ago, my kid’s friends didn’t think of them either when on spring break they raced into the salty waves and made sandcastles on the beach. They didn’t once stop to think of the envy they inflicted in telling my poor disadvantaged oldest children their cheery tales of dolphins and sea turtles. You see, I used spring break as spring cleaning time.
Yes, every day I had a list of jobs to be completed before supper. The house was scrubbed from top to bottom. Cobwebs cleared, lights polished, windows cleaned. If we got done early each day, we could go for ice cream.
The era of mandatory spring and fall cleaning was waning already then, but I don’t shed traditions too quickly. We labored through the week. I patted myself on the back in keeping them busy for the week off from school. Builds character, right? A strong work ethic is good! And besides we always took a two-week road trip to Saskatchewan to see Grandpa and Grandma every summer. Who needs Florida?
Okay, in the middle of spring break, my kids did. And okay, I do. Right now.
Apparently, my son, Buzz, needs Florida too. He schemed with his wife to surprise their young children with a trip to those balmy beaches on Christmas morning. Accommodations were booked; the van was filled with snacks and pool toys, all hidden from the questioning eyes of the little ones. “Why are you in the closet, Mom?” the kids hollered as she packed suitcases with bathing suits and sunblock. “Just organizing!” she assured them through a crack in the door.
On Christmas morning, the kids are awakened early, hustled out through the cold to get buckled in their car seats, settled in with blankies and books. “Surprise! We’re going to Florida!!” Bewildered and sleepy, they blink and smile. They are going to Florida!!
Surprises are such a blast! Buzz is still riding on an emotional high when they stop for lunch. He’s passing out juice boxes and sandwiches and just has to ask, “Say, kids! Is this the biggest surprise you’ve ever had in your life?” Buzz grins happily waiting for the expected resounding and enthusiastic, “Yes!!” The kids ponder the question for just a moment, and chewing on a mouthful of PBJ, the eldest answers, “No, Grandpa and Grandma took us to Perkins once!”
Ha! I can snuggle in with my wooly socks, cuddly blanket and a warming cup of hot chocolate. I can stop feeling guilty that we didn’t take our kids to Florida on spring break. It’s okay! White sand beaches and gloriously warm sunshine are overrated. Who needs Florida? We have Perkins!
