Florida is a State of Mind

It's April 27.

The sky is spitting an ice/rain combo here in Michiana.
You know what Prince can do with his song "Sometimes it Snows in April?"

(*radio silence*)

In Prince's defense,(rest his soul) he did live in Minnesota, so he was accurate
about the weather.

Right now... RIGHT NOW...(sorry, I'll quit yelling)
I'm supposed to be swimming in the Atlantic Ocean.
Catching shells,
catching waves,
and most importantly...
catching up with loved ones.

I admit, I have been disappointed, sad, and surly at the situation.
This is the first vacation in a long time (or any that I can remember) where
Steve and I were too incapacitated to fly. I had to make the dreaded phone call
to family to let them know that we were too sick to travel,
and Steve promptly canceled our flights.

It wasn't just a cold that could be controlled with medicine and sleep on the plane.
It was an outright assault on our gastrointestinal systems. The stomach flu.
Steve and I were the headliners of Pukapalooza 2019, and our guts took no prisoners.
Extreme porcelain bus driving and we drove miles and miles, baby.

Anyway, I'll spare you the rest of the bathroom drama.
I know we wouldn't have survived the ride.
(Plus, no one wants this vileness.)


Today was the first day since Tuesday afternoon that I have been out of the house.
I pretended to be be domestic and foraged for ingredients
to make veggie soup. It was pretty uneventful, and when I checked out, I met the coolest cashier.

We both exchanged pleasantries and also shared our woes. He had a sore back and legs,
but with a great attitude and disposition. I told him about Florida.

He was sympathetic, and this is what he said to me: "Florida is a state of mind."
I smiled for the first time since entering the store.
We discussed that we could make our own Florida.
Buy coconuts, listen to ocean waves, wear fun sunscreen...

The customer behind me was starting to tap her foot, so we ended the conversation after that.
I did thank him for his words of encouragement and pushed my cart out the store, slightly smiling in
the rain-snow spit as I loaded the car and headed home.