Florida Dreamin'

A couple of years ago I wrote this post on the top ten reasons I'd rather be in Florida.  All those reasons are still valid but now I need to add one more...

My heart lives in Florida.

My mother, who lives unhappily in Florida, always asks me if I'd rather live in Florida or California. I always answer that I love them both and that's true to a certain point but it's not the whole truth.

I didn't always dream of Florida, I never even thought about having a home there until 14 years ago and then it all just happened and it seemed right and I've never regretted buying the house. It is my escape, my hideaway, my bolt hole. I go there to celebrate life's victories and to rest up from life's troubles. A few days sitting by the pool and I regain my emotional center. If I go too long without a visit, I start to suffer from withdrawal symptoms. I haven't been there for over a month and I'm starting to get a twitch.

Don't get me wrong, I really love my little California cottage and I plan on totally focusing on it for the next few months, redecorating and gardening and making it the cozy cottage of my dreams. I also adore Carmel, as I'm sure I've mentioned a few hundred times, and can't imagine not having it as a part of my life but if I won the lottery, I'd pack myself off to Florida so fast it'd make your head spin. I'd make that my home base, spend every weekend...who am I kidding, I'd spend every dang day... sitting by the pool and soaking up that wonderful sunshine. I'd make sure to visit Carmel every few months but my day to day life would be reunited with my heart in the sunshine state.

Can you tell that I'm longing to get on a plane to MCO? Oh boy, my twitch is getting worse!