February in Florida

    We are having perfect weather here in Sarasota; one dry, sunny, mid 70 degree day after the next, with occasional tropical winds. When the climate is this good, I conjure up cold winter memories where I’ve paid my dues.  I’m hoping that former weather misery balances out present perfection, so the "evil eye" will find someone else to bring to her senses and leave my sunny days alone.

    When I lived up north, if it was particularly cold outside, I’d look out the window beyond the icicles, and pretend to be watching the Gulf of Mexico. I’d imagine I could walk outside barefoot, have lunch on a terrace filled with pots of flowers overlooking an oval turquoise pool, and then take a long bike ride in a land of palm trees and bougainvilleas.

These images were so uplifting, I could even imagine holding my tongue as I evoked the vision of my twenty-year-old daughter, floating in said pool, puffing boredom away with her Marlboros. No "your body is a temple" speeches for her when I daydreamed.  That’s how satisfying were these reveries.  Eventually though, the damn Connecticut wind would butt in and ruin everything.  And then the moment would be over and flip flops would turn back into fleece.

    Picking up the paper and having coffee outside on Main Street, Sarasota this morning, that trapped-in feeling of winter felt far away.  A lot of frequent flier miles were accumulated on those fantasy voyages.  Around me now, the sun-drenched street was bustling with activity; the kind that feels like something good is going on, and you just want to be a part of it.  Tourists and residents mingled easily; children pulled parents’ arms towards the toy store, the ice cream shop, and to watch the adorable outdoor café dogs hunt for table scraps their families might drop from above.

    I had just gone roller blading down my block right before this coffee. You can be middle aged and roller blade in Sarasota and it doesn’t look ambitious; this is a town where almost anyone can be seen huffing along outside in some kind of aerobic activity trying to outpace the ravages of time. With laced up skates, I headed gamely out the door.  Turns out that my will is still here, even if my feet aren’t.  So what?  These days the mind is stronger than the body, just a simple reversal from younger years.

    What is important is that Sarasota makes me want to roller blade again. It's been years. I rolled around that street corner before coffee this morning, not bundled up, but rather, feeling free in a tee shirt and shorts. The sun warmed my back.  I bladed passed my neighbors’ beautiful tropical gardens and waved at the children playing ball in the streets.  No need to daydream anymore.  It’s February in Florida.

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