i was dangling and floating on the PurpleDragon noodle in the pool on Friday afternoon with the whole clan. i rolled my shoulders down my back and opened my entire sun-kissed chest to increase my buoyancy. i was filled to the brim. loosey-goosey. relaxed.

once again, i got what i needed from Shorida.

although its never been the same twice.

for several years i needed to run in Florida. to run at least 3 miles every day and a couple of 5-milers, and at least one 5-miler to the beach. some years i’ve pounded out laps in the pool, or had early morning yoga practice on the pool deck.

this year i chilled. i ran once. 3 miles. i sweat the appropriate amount and it felt wonderful.   i felt it again the entire next day and never tried it again. i didn’t need to. i just needed to check in and make sure i could run 3 miles if i needed to. and i can. enough.

i stretched a bit each day and tried to keep up with the daily neck and shoulder tension from travel. we spent many hours road tripping from place to place.

i stripped my responsibilities down to a minimum. many days i didn’t even bring my phone. just some water, sunscreen, and a hat.

allthedays were spent in the comfort of love of our friends and our family….and more often than in a time since i can recall…DW and i spent time with eachother.

we went to the beach, we lounged at the pool. we had beers and wings, and surf and turf, and mussels and martinis. we shared a cigar and some moscow mules. we picked lemons for dinner and rode bikes through the hood. we held hands. we looked at each other. we took a break from our life to check in with our life.

We saw our wee peeps grow leapsandbounds from the saturation of the love from Nanny and Pa and the Skis and the heat of the sun.

We were the best versions of ourselves on vacation. Cool and Kind. and healthy.

our transition back to Wyoming was as smooth as it could have been for such a drastic blow.

the several weeks before we left for Florida, i was skiing the first 5-miles to town to teach yoga on Wednesdays…and it could have made me happier. i would ski to the truck, drive in to teach yoga or get Devlin, and then drive back out to the Side-by-Side that DW drove in the morning to bring the peeps to school. Then Dev and i took the side-by side-home until we heard from Crit and DW. Then we’d hop in and drive out 5 miles to scoop them up. we did this daily for 2 weeks.

now…we have a snowmobile. and i drove it to town yesterday for the first time. i was unsure…but it was fine. the wind has been outrageous and the drifts are surreal. i was not sure i could make it back in the side-by-side…but i gave it a whirl, and i did. and i don’t want to go back to town until i have to. until the weather is on-my-side.

the break from this world was fabulous. and without it i may have lost my marbles.

i am bowing in gratitude to Nanny and Pa for filling my vacation with the kind of luxuries Jorge hoped i’d have in my life.