I don’t know about anyone else, but I don’t like my mirror in February. The furnace air has made my skin look parched, and the many, many gray days has my coloring look like paste no matter how much crap I’ve smeared on my face. I love the MIdwest. I really do. But in February, sun and heat grow really appealing.

Our #2 daughter lives in Florida near St. Pete’s. We love her husband. She loves to send pictures of a beautiful beach with a message, “We have a guest room here.” Sometimes, it’s too much. We fly down to see them. But they’re busy. We’re busy. We usually only stay a long weekend or a week. And I’ll be honest. It’s more wonderful seeing the kids than the sun and beach. But this year, we’ve been hit with more expenses than usual–our furnace died, the roof on the dormer bedroom leaked, a chipmunk made a nest in our dishwasher and ate through the wires, our oven fizzled, and our car needed repairs. We’re being a little more careful with our money right now. So, we’ll probably stay home and dream of sun and water.

We have friends who ditch Indiana every year to go to Florida or Arizona for a few months to miss winter. I’m not ready for that. I’d miss our house, our friends…. Grandson #2 just moved back to Indiana, and I hope to see more of him. I’m more of a homebody than HH. He could gladly travel more than stay home. I like roots. Family. Friends. My office. My computer. Routine.

Yes, routine. It grounds me. A two-week vacation makes me restless. Too much fun gets on my nerves. But a week? I can handle that; I even enjoy it. But not this February.