Wanderlust

It's a dangerous proposition taking me past the city limits of Atlanta. Not that I'm a bad traveler. And I think I'm a pretty awesome companion. It's just that, once I arrive at Whatever Town Outside the City Limits, I've been known to say a few hundred times, "It's so nice here. We should move here." (I think I may have even uttered these words a few months ago about Chicago, though not at the very moment the 20 below wind was working to cut my face in two.)

If it weren't for the commitment our current mortgage forces me to make to Inside the City Limits, I'd be liable to come home from any trip, pack up the kids, and move them to Whatever Town Outside the City Limits. In fact, if this house had sold, I could very well be on my way to Miami with the children and all of my belongings lovingly packed into the biggest U-Haul available. Because that's where I spent this past week.

It was a lovely few days spent without my children. A wonderful break, although I found myself constantly saying, "Oh, the kids would love that!" I'm quite sure I've already made it clear how much I despise cold weather (cold meaning anything below 75 degrees F), so Florida is always a draw for me. The weather and the fact that Florida--especially south Florida--is so much like "home". The bouganvilleas covering each building with brilliant color, the hibiscus dancing in the breeze, the overloaded mango trees...all familiar foliage. The apartment buildings and sometimes not so tidy alleyways, even the pungent odor of garbage and sewers...though not pleasant, a reminder of my "home" across the ocean. These things coupled with the unique and charming architecture stirred up the wanderlust in my soul this past week.

Of course now it's back to reality. Finally spring has returned to Inside the City Limits. And as I look out on my backyard which is bathed in warm sunshine, I try to look at it with new eyes so that perhaps I will be driven to say, "It's so nice here. This is just where I want to be."