I have many stories, but this is the story of me and Florida.

When I married in August of 2000, I told my husband, "I don't ever want to live in Florida."  I was a Virginia native, raised in Vermont and, in my estimation, Florida was too hot, too flat and too far from my family.  This is the attitude I took after I had secured the husband of my dreams and we were starting our married adventure in Colorado.  In my mind, all roads eventually led back to Virginia, MY home state.  NOT to Florida, his home state.

Rewind history by three years and you'll find a very different attitude on the same girl, intoxicated by love.  As she meandered her way, alone, down a sleepy country road in small town Florida, shaded by ancient live oaks, she reached up to pull down a strand of hanging moss and, inhaling the deep scent of jasmine, she envisioned a life here in Florida with her childhood friend, the boy now becoming a man, currently attending college at UF.  She liked the vision.  She could see herself here.

Love colors everything.  It makes us see good in everything.  It makes us see potential.

On the other hand, Love also keeps us tied to our roots..... it keeps the good aspects of our past interwoven with our present.  So which road led us to Florida instead of Virginia?  Homesickness.

Homesickness for the East Coast, and a shorter drive to family, made me agree to the first decent job my husband was offered.  It happened to be in Florida.  "I don't ever want to live in Florida" turned into "it's better than Colorado."  I enjoyed my time in Colorado, but I didn't like it as much as I thought I would.  At 21, eager to strike out west for adventure, I had not factored in homesickness. 

Chris adores Colorado and could have stayed, but as family is important to him too, he was happy to move back east.  We packed up and drove cross country for the second time.  Arriving in Florida, Chris buckled down to an interesting new job and I breathed deeper.  (The air in Colorado was thinner.)

For 8 years I said, "this is temporary.  We will settle in the mid-Atlantic states."  Somehow, during those 8 years, Florida wove her way into my heart.  Somehow, Florida became my home.  How did that happen?  Is it because I've been here so long it's become familiar, for better or worse?  Maybe.  I AM tired of moving.  But there's more.  After 8 years in Florida, we moved to Switzerland for a 2 year adventure.  When it came time to return "home" to the U.S.A., it wasn't Virginia I wanted, it was Florida.  At that point, I let go of past ideals and went home to Florida with open arms.

This brings us to the present day.  We've been home for a year now, renting a house and growing a baby.  Yes, that's right, there's a baby in this story...

Today there is a two month old baby, sleeping next to me in a cream bassinet beside my bed as I talk to you.  I look over at her now; the most beautiful baby I've ever seen.  Her Daddy is hunting for the perfect house in which to raise her.  After renting for over a year, we are getting ready to put an offer on a house to buy.  But I have cold feet.  It's a suitable house in an ideal location, so why do I have cold feet? I already told myself that Florida is my home and I want to stay.  I think there must be a little corner of my heart that still doesn't want to commit and buying a house is a form of committing.

Isn't that always the way it is with committing?  Commitment doesn't ever come without a shred of uncertainty.  At some point, you just have to pick a plan and start walking, embracing imperfections and making the best of it.  So that's what I'm doing.  I'm inhaling the deep scent of Florida jasmine and I'm celebrating the woman I've become; a woman in her 30's, finally at peace with the life of homemaking she chose 15 years ago.....