When we stayed in our frigid Iowa home through the winter months dreaming of the day we could take our arthritic joints south for the season, I was deep in seasonal depression by January each year. Maybe it was the cloudy short days, maybe it was the holidays. Who knows, but by the end of winter I was a certified mad woman, making summer plans and booking campsites trying to get myself through the cold, wet, gloomy spring that is Iowa.
My office mate had in-laws who had wintered in the south for her kids entire lives to date. My own grandfather, whom I was close to, wintered in Texas. I listened to Karin talk about her experience with her kids having one set of grandparents gone for the holidays and was reminded of my own grandfather being absent for several months each year. My rational mind knows how many of us, miss the Christmas festivities with the little ones and have relinquished our status as "Christmas Hub For All Things Family" as a sort of premature passing of the torch. That doesn't make it any easier.
Today, we called our grandson who just had his 7th birthday party yesterday. We have been very present in his life and Champ and he share a very special bond. He hates that we leave in the winter. It is time to put up the Christmas decorations here for the inevitable campground decorating contest. A very Griswold undertaking to say the least. I am in full Grinch mode today. The snowbird guilt is in bloom along with the Poinsettia's that are able to live outside, here in Florida.
As I sat on my patio today, sipping a Vodka with lime, working the Sunday New York Times Crossword and working on my winter tan in the warm southern sun, low in the sky, I picked up my tablet to look at Facebook only to see the weather conditions at home. There is nothing like a white out blizzard at home to make my guilt wane. My news feed was filled with images like this one issued by the DOT in southern Iowa. I hate that we miss winter birthdays and Christmas and 5 months of the kids experiences. But I hated this more before our snowbird days.
Like a lot of others who flee the north around late October, I'll be thankful for Facetime. My joints will bask in the warm air and mild winter sun. The days will be short but sunny, easing the seasonal depression. The only thing that nags is the burning guilt of leaving the kids to start their own traditions and live their lives.
Until next time...
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