Florida

I just got back from a trip to Florida with my husband. We had a great time! The weather was not hot, just lovely 70+. The sun was perfect when out of the wind and I enjoyed the pool! I also had a chance to visit with some old friends. Not old in years...just from long ago.

It amazes me that we can pick up and carry on after years and years as though it were a mere few weeks since we last spoke. Although I saw Sharon and Ken in November in St. Thomas, it had been over 30 years since I saw them before that. I had not seen Karen for 25 years before we re-connected. I also saw Missy on this trip and it has been 30+ years since I last saw her. So many memories of high-school !! LOL!!  I enjoyed my visit in St. Petersburg with Sharon, Ken, Karen and Missy and my new friends, Joe, Paul and Judy. (and the dogs... Roxie, Gator, Megan, Jacks and Boo)

We also ventured south to Sarasota and spent some quality time with Lori. She and I grew up across the street from each other and attended school together from kindergarten onwards. :)  Although we have seen each other over the years, it has often been 5 or 6 years between visits.

It is so relaxing to be with old friends. There is no pretense, no awkward silence, no lack of conversation topics. They just get you. And you get them.

It was also lovely to spend time alone with my honey. Since Mark moved back home, our empty nest life has been disrupted. Don't get me wrong, I love that he is home, but we were really comfortable with our life before he moved back in.  :) (He is moving out in the spring...yes...he is!!)

Al is not one to enjoy beach or pool time. Being fair-skinned and formerly red-haired, there is little that he enjoys about the sun. The weather was just right for him. not too hot and the shade was very comfortable. The only bad thing was that it was too early for Blue Jays spring training in Dunedin, so we will have re-evaluate when we go next year. Yes, he wants to go again next year!!  :)

While I am away I think very little about my illness. It is as if real-life is on hold. I wish I had a million dollars so I could travel and see the world and live in that utopia all the time. :) Don't we all?!

I need to start my bucket list. Not because I perceive the time to be short, (because I don't), but because I want to prioritize the myriad destinations I want to travel to. There are no guarantees with this illness, except that it will be back. I need to ensure that I do what I really want to do while I can. How many of us have parents that put off travel until retirement, only to have too many health problems to be able to do it. I don't want to be that person.

Just a short list of some of the places I would like to see, in no particular order:

• Tahiti and the Society Islands
• Australia
• Alaska
• Newfoundland
• California coast
• England, Scotland and Ireland

Better go buy myself a lottery ticket! :)