CRUSH ON FLORIDA

I have a crush on Florida right now. I'm infatuated with the weather, the vegetation, the beach, our sweet downtown neighborhood, even the theme parks. I love that I can take advantage of the outdoors almost year-round (I enjoyed a lovely picnic lunch with Amy and Ana today at Lake Eola) and that spring/summer fever has already hit people here (contrast this with Illinois in late March, where everything was still gray and dead, and everyone was literally weary and depressed from five long months of winter).

Evidence: I called Orlando "home" for the first time when I was in Rockford last month. I find myself wanting to spend our one-year anniversary at some Florida destination. I daydream about buying a house here, raising children here...

This isn't exactly new. When I was a child, we always vacationed in Florida, so it seemed like some sort of tropical wonderland. When we did our state projects in sixth grade, I won my first choice of the Sunshine State and put together an entire binder of Florida facts, from precipitation to population to elevation (Florida is flat).

But at some point after moving here, I began hating Florida. Maybe it was the lack of friends. The squelching humid summers. The defeating job. The churchlessness. The absence of fall leaves and snow. Living in a suburban cookie-cutter-house wasteland... I wanted to get out of here.

Things have obviously changed since then. I have people I'm close to (one special one in particular), a church home, a satisfying career. I live in a quaint historic neighborhood. The summers are still unbearable and the seasons still don't change, but I'm not thinking about that now in the midst of a gorgeous spring.

I do want to stay open to thinking that this may not be where we settle, however. When I see photographs of majestic mountains, of watercolor autumns, of fresh snowfalls, I'm reminded of the fact that there are other types of beauty in this world in which we could dwell. When Philip talks about job opportunities in England, I feel a little thrill at the thought of living for a time in a different culture. I think I could get used to wearing fleeces and sweaters and scarves again. And if I ever do seriously decide to consider studying writing at the graduate level, we'd have to move, no way around it.

I guess I'm just thankful for the contentment I feel here at the moment, and at the same time, I want to be flexible and willing enough to take other future possibilities into consideration. I want to enjoy Florida, but not get too comfortable here, if God has other ideas for us...

Some natural Florida beauty for you...
Disney on Thanksgiving weekend, 2004

Caladesi Island State Park, the day Philip proposed (December 18, 2004)

Kayak trail through the mangroves at Caladesi

Sunset at Sattelite Beach, December 2004

With Sarah at Sattelite Beach, December 2004

Honeymoon Island State Park, May 2005

Lake Eola, downtown Orlando

In my old neighborhood in Oviedo

Florida vegetation in Oviedo

Lake Eustis at our Florida reception, September 2005

With David and Amy at Rock Springs, fall 2005

Manatees at Blue Spring, winter 2005

At Busch Gardens, March 2006

GOODBYE, 25

For anyone who's curious, my birthday surprise from Philip was to spend two days at Busch Gardens in Tampa. Philip and I had just a smashing time riding roller coasters and looking at all the animals. We had beautiful weather, and also enjoyed a night's stay at a nice Marriott and a tasty Italian dinner at Carrabba's, which I'd never been to before. You can check out pictures here.

On my birthday, I was made to feel special by many people who sent me cards, gave me gifts, left me MySpace messages, called me, and stopped by to wish me a happy birthday. Thank you to all of you. Thank you to my family who always calls and sings "Happy Birthday" over the phone, a tradition started long ago by my Grandma Helen, who continues it today. Thank you to Karen and Susan for baking me a cake. Thank you to Ashley at Barnes & Noble who bought fancy Godiva chocolate Easter eggs from the store for me, since I had to work on my birthday. Thank you to the Achatas, who took me out to dinner. And thank you to Philip for the beautiful three-part birthday week!

One birthday card I received encouraged me to reflect on the past year, so I thought I would briefly do that. Since I met Philip, we have not had a dull moment; so much has happened since that May in 2003. So in keeping with our tendency toward undergoing an abundance of major life events, here are some of the things we've experienced since March 8, 2005:

+ We witnessed the marriages of four couples: Jen & Jeremy, Martin & Justine, Khlarisse & Albert, and Ian & Melissa.
+ We experienced the loss of Philip's Grandpa Don and traveled to his memorial service in Detroit days before our wedding.
+ I worked for a time as the out-of-house copyeditor for an African-American publication called Soul Mag.
+ We got married.
+ I moved to downtown Orlando to live with my husband.
+ We traveled to the U.S. Virgin Island of St. John for our honeymoon.
+ We came home to discover our kitchen covered entirely in tin foil.
+ I said a sad goodbye to my roommate and close friend Chelsea Folmsbee, who moved back to Virginia with her husband, who returned safely from a difficult year of military service in Afghanistan.
+ We saw Sufjan Stevens play in Athens, Georgia.
+ We traveled to North Carolina to attend the memorial service for my good friend Amy Achata's dad.
+ Philip took me to see the campus of his first college in Tennessee.
+ I began doing freelance editing work for two publishing houses in addition to Youth Specialties: Multnomah and NavPress.
+ We bought our first dining room table.
+ I got a part-time job working for Barnes & Noble.
+ We spent our first Christmas in a hospital room, visiting my Grandpa Dick, who had cancer.
+ We experienced the loss of my grandpa, four days after he prayed to ask Christ to "take his soul."
+ We traveled to England.

How have I grown through it all? It's hard to say. I guess I've learned that things don't just happen; you have to work for them. That life is precious. That traveling makes me feel alive. That family and friends mean everything. That I'm much fonder of downtown Orlando than East Orlando or Oviedo. That marriage is the greatest gift. That God is able to do anything and is incredibly faithful and present and near...

OH MY GOODNESS.

LOTS (and I do mean lots) of new pictures. Check out our Flickr. That is all.

AH, SWEET CONTENTMENT, I LOVE YOU.

It's 75 degrees and sunny in Florida today, low humidity, breeze coming in through the windows and the ceiling fans swirling lazily. I'm feeling good because it's Friday, which means I have two solid days with my husband coming up. This weekend is even better because he is taking me away for one night for a birthday surprise! I have tried to figure out what we're doing but am out of guesses, and I'm so excited I could burst.

I've been feeling hugely blessed lately. A couple goals that I had set seem to be materializing: We have finally reached a point where our apartment is almost 100 percent unpacked; and I feel like I'm falling into good sync with work. I am down to working one or two days a week at Barnes & Noble, which seems to leave me just the right amount of time to tackle my editing and writing at home on the other days.

It struck me the other day that freelance copyediting is an awesome job - I get paid good money to sit and read interesting books. (This should have seemed obvious, but it has taken me a while to feel this way.) I finally seem to be striking the right balance between teamwork at Barnes and better pay/use of my skill set/freedom at my "home office." First I was getting bored and lonely at home, and then I was being overwhelmed with too many hours at Barnes; but now it's seems to be just right (kind of like Goldielocks and the three bears, come to think of it). This is such a huge relief, because I was beginning to wonder if I was one of those people who could never be happy no matter what.

So it feels wonderful to be enjoying work and marriage and spring in Florida.

I also realize, though, that many people in my life, both family and friends, are going through rough times - marriage problems, unexpected pregnancies, broken friendships, career fears, and so on - and I want to be available for them, not getting so wrapped up in my contentment that I neglect to take care of people who need taking care of. Now that I seem to have reached a place of balance and order in life, I want my marriage, home, and self to be a haven and a pillar of support for those who I know to take refuge in and lean on. And I also want to find more ways to take all the good things I've been given and pass them on to people who aren't enjoying so many good things.

(*Note: This weekend, however, I will be thoroughly preoccupied with my own recreational pursuit with my husband and will be entirely unavailable for anyone's spiritual or emotional needs.)