It's no secret that having our families live so far away is sometimes rough.
I get VERY homesick every fall.
Florida has no fall season. It's hot here all the time and there is never a point where the leaves change, the wind blows cooler and things start to feel a bit chilly.
That doesn't stop us from wishing for it. Matt and I long for "football weather" (though we both could probably count on one hand the number of football games we've been to when the weather was actually perfect "football weather". This weather phenomenon is a complicated mix of cool, crisp air, sunshine and low humidity.)
Since the chances of this weather happening in Florida are pretty much zero I definitely miss Alabama and the cooler weather and fall colors. By the time we make the trip home for Christmas, things start to change.
One, because we usually are in Alabama for an extended period of time and by the time we head back home to Tampa I am ready to be in my house again.
Two, because Tampa in the spring is AMAZING. Almost as soon as we get home after Christmas we can start wearing shorts, short sleeves and lighter clothing. My heavy wool jacket, scarves and gloves are no longer needed. Everything seems greener and brighter. Poor Alabama has lost it's fall splendor by then and most everything seems brown and gray. Coming back to the sunshine in Florida feels pretty amazing and you start to feel lucky that you live in a vacation hotspot.
So needless to say - THIS particular time of year I am not quite so homesick. I know it's snowing or at least probably below freezing in Alabama tonight. And I'm not homesick for that in the slightest.
So, here are some reasons I like living in Florida in the spring.
(and gratuitous baby photos thrown in for good measure)
Your baby can get away with wearing this dress in February.
Out to eat.
On a Friday night.
She can go barefoot as often as she likes.
I can turn photos of azaleas blooming in my backyard into pretty water colors.
You can take hilarious photos like this one in the water park at Disney World.
On the first day of March.
You can meet your husband downtown for lunch and go for a walk beside the bay and see pirate ships.
You can rock your baby to sleep on your front porch swing.
You can let the kids play without clothes when you babysit.
Your goofy husband can dress up like an Olympic speed skater for an Olympic watching party and not freeze.
Your husband can work on his Christmas present in the sunshine.
You can lay on a quilt outside under an umbrella in your backyard and just enjoy being a family.
But having my little family to enjoy the sunshine with me helps remove the sting.
Home is truly where they are anyways.
