It is a Happy New Year...Finally!

It is a happy new year! We haven’t left Florida since January 1st, but Florida definitely left us. Today, the temperature was a balmy 62 degrees down below when we awoke, instead of the frigid 42 degrees we experienced more mornings than I want to remember. We opened the hatches and left them open for the entire day! We happily recognized and waved to our neighbors as we dinghied along, instead of lifting a hand to unidentified boaters hiding in canvas enclosures or hunkered in dinghies covered in hats, hoodies, and foul weather gear. We all greeted each other with “Isn’t this wonderful?” and “It’s about time!” instead of “Are you staying warm?” or “It can’t last much longer….can it?” We put bathing suits on for the first time this year, and took a long beach walk luxuriating in the hot sun and warm ocean breeze. The sky was blue and the sand was warm. We enjoyed the wonderful smell of sun tan lotion instead of avoiding the smell of dead fish that had sadly washed up on the beach due to unseasonably cold waters. The tourists strolled the beach, frolicked in the water, and relaxed on lounge chairs soaking up rays, instead of looking disappointed and forlorn wrapped in towels and sweatshirts. Today, everything just felt good. We knew it was our lucky day while during our walk I found a nickel, then Gary found a dime…both “heads up”. We returned to Tessa to catch up on outdoor boat chores, and never enjoyed them more. I scrubbed the water line and the dinghy, while Gary washed down the deck and topsides. We opened up the canvas and let the warm breeze flow through, instead of keeping it tightly zipped to cut the cold, damp winds. We celebrated the return of sunny Florida by playing Bob Marley…really loud. We each have a shadow of a tan line beginning. This is what it’s supposed to feel like in Florida. We’ve turned the corner and everything is looking up. How could I be more absolutely, positively convinced of this, after I walked by the marina soda machine this afternoon to find it spitting out dimes like a Las Vegas slot machine? I hastily gathered them up off the floor and stuck them in my pocket. Finders keepers, losers weepers. Then, I reported the malfunction to the office… and promptly bought a lottery ticket at 7-Eleven with my $5.00 jackpot. In spite of the weather, it’s still been a very, very happy new year for us so far. Life is good! Even if we don’t win the lottery. p.s. If we do happen to win the Florida Powerball on Wednesday, free trip to Fort Myers for our 500 closest family and friends!