Stephanie Martin-Smith
Soul Purpose
This year our Christmas gift to the family was to go to Florida, and I think it was a great choice. It still didn’t stop the excessive flow of money from our pockets, but I did get exactly what I wanted for Christmas ... another chance at summer!
We left literally climbing over snow banks and drove our way into 80 degree weather, sunny all the way.
I completely understand why so many people ditch our neck of the woods for the sunny south every year and come home for spring. Sounds like a great plan to me.
Apparently, all we missed was four snow storms and a flood, so hey, that’s a pretty good gift.
I think some of our most memorable moments took place within the first 20 minutes of the drive. There was a flurry of activity in the van with games and DVDs and other entertainment devices being hooked up, a request from Max for “a little less talking and a little more driving” and the question, “how many minutes to Florida?”(at 5:30 a.m., it was a little early for a calculation like that, so I simply replied “A lot”).
Since this was really only our second family vacation that didn’t involve a Fresh Horses gig, it was well received by the whole family. Without phones and Internet we were basically forced to actually communicate with one another, and the good news is it went pretty well.
The CB proved to be helpful and entertaining during our long drive; we were able to hear about traffic issues that arose, but did have a few censored moments from young ears. I’d really hate for
Max to return to SK with that truck driver talk, mind you he did hear some pretty great jokes that sounded even better with a Southern Kentucky drawl …“If you have chrome on back order … you might be a chicken hauler,” “If you can be seen from the satellites in space...you might be a chicken hauler.” And this went on for pretty much a whole hour and a half traffic jam.
The great weather gave me some time to reflect on why on Earth we ever chose to live in a snow belt? I was reading a book that analyzed this topic (and a few more), and it seems everything seems to stem from our roots. I probably came from a long line of farmers who found themselves drawn to this type of terrain, and generation after generation, we just sort of settled (no pun intended).
According to this book, it also has a lot to do with our dispositions … sunny or otherwise.
I guess the weather is just a trade off anyway; we get snow, they get hurricanes.
There really is no perfect place to live and we are all subject to weather and its unpredictability, but I must admit, I think I will always find myself questioning our chosen locale after that perfect sunny day.
