My husband left for Florida today. Every January for the past 15 years or so he has gone to a huge conference in Orlando, on-site at Disney World.
When our kids were in grade school and middle school it was hard to try to explain to them why Daddy got to visit Mickey Mouse for 7-10 days and they had to stay home with a crabby mom. Even when they were old enough to understand that their father was actually working and not going on rides and visiting water parks, it still wasn't an easy sell, although the gifts he brought home helped ease their jealousy a bit.
Last year our youngest child started college. For the first time in a very long time there was no longer anyone at home who needed me for meals, laundry, or transportation. Maybe, just maybe I would be able to go to Florida with him. Imagine how disappointed I was when my husband said that he probably wouldn't be going to the conference that year!
Over the years I had held down the fort while he was gone, shoveled mountains of snow (because it always snowed while he was away), dealt with major computer issues (one time the desktop monitor died before he even made it to the airport for his flight to Orlando!) and handled hundreds (slight exaggeration) of other major and minor disasters and glitches.
The mishaps of 2008 alone should have earned me a guaranteed spot for the 2010 trip. In the space of 24 hours our 16 year old rendered one car totally inoperable and broke the driver side power window (resulting in it becoming permanently stuck in the down position) on the other. As I attempted to arrange a blanket over the open window (after all, it was January, the temperature that night was predicted to reach single digits, and it was snowing) I shut my right thumb in the very heavy door of the Suburban. *&#@$!!!
Thankfully, circumstances changed and my husband decided to attend the 2010 conference after all. Even better, we looked over our budget and decided that we could afford for me to go with him.
I thoroughly enjoyed a week of Florida warmth and Disney World whimsy and wonder! With the exception of the day I was unable to leave the hotel room due to the ravages of food poisoning (don't ever eat asparagus unless you've prepared it yourself!) I couldn't have asked for a better vacation.
So, it was with no small amount of sadness that I decided to forgo the Florida trip this year. We had recently enjoyed a trip to San Francisco to celebrate our wedding anniversary, and I couldn't justify spending more money on a return to Disney World. After I made that decision, a number of unexpected expenses confirmed for me that I had chosen wisely.
Tomorrow the weather at WDW is forecast to be partly cloudy with a high of 76 degrees. Here in the Midwest/Great Lakes I can look forward to a high of 7 degrees on Thursday and at least three days of snow, with one weatherman predicting our biggest snow of the season.
Do I regret my decision to stay home? A little bit, but mostly I'm thankful for both of the trips I was able to take last year. As a life-long Midwesterner, I'm adopting the philosophy of generations of Cubs fans -- wait till next year!
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