Vacation, of sorts
I spent the past week in Florida enjoying the warm sun, while everyone in New Jersey was freezing.
No, it wasn’t really warm, but it also wasn’t 8 degrees. We went to Florida because Husband#1 wanted to spend some time with his mom over Chanukah, and I went along because, well, I guess he had to take me. He also doesn’t do well with turbulence. Really not well. In fact, he gets so completely freaked out that to distract him, I start telling him about the week’s Torah portion. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Husband#1 does not like to travel alone, and I was happy to keep him company.
I could not believe how cold it was, but it isn’t fair for me to complain because it could have been colder. But, on the other hand, Husband#1 was looking forward to sitting by the pool, but you can’t sit by the pool when it is 40 degrees outside. But you can’t complain about not sitting at the pool because other people are at work. But he hasn’t been on vacation in a really long time, but some people never go on vacation. It is a vicious cycle. All in all, it was a lovely week, but I didn’t get to walk as much as I normally would because, in addition to being cold, it was also raining a lot. But, as I have just mentioned, I can’t really complain about it, because it could have been so much worse.
Anyway, Son#3 was able to get away from his rigorous coursework in school/yeshiva, so we were happy that one of our offspring was able to join us, and it made my mother-in-law happy as well. Of course, since he was flying Spirit Airlines, he wasn’t able to bring a suitcase or a carry-on, unless he/we wanted to spend more money, so we brought his clothes in our suitcases. There was really no point in sharing that with you, so feel free to disregard or comment on how frugal we are. To each their own.
In any event, I have shared with you before that my family makes fun of me for acting like my mother. This is in regard to talking to complete strangers. They call it “pulling an Eita,” because that is my mom’s name. I am not always friendly to strangers, I am not always friendly to people who aren’t strangers, but sometimes the situation warrants you talking to people you don’t know. However, sometimes I bring it upon myself.
Picture this. We are sitting in a restaurant. Husband#1, his mother, Son#3, and me. In walks a young, religious-looking couple. They both sit on the same side of their table, gazing into each other’s eyes. It was adorable. I said, “They just got married.” Husband#1 said, “No, they have been married for at least six months.” “Please don’t ask them, Mom,” Son#3 begged. “Please, please, please.”
I looked at the young couple, I looked at my son, but even though I love him more than anything in this world, I just couldn’t help myself. And I needed to prove that I was right. When the young couple got up to wash, and the wife came back first, I asked, “Excuse me, how long have you been married?” I got a huge, angelic grin, and she said “A month,” with such pride in her voice. Ahh, young love. Just you wait. They were giggling and talking to each other the whole meal. It was adorable.
The couple next to them, however, did not look as giggly. My thoughts were: A. First night out without their baby and they would rather be sleeping than out to dinner; B. Just found out she was expecting and was not feeling at the top of her game; C. Ran out of things to talk about in the car. Since they didn’t look so happy, I didn’t ask them anything. But I was very curious. Why? Maybe it is the writer in me — or more like the yenta in me — but I did refrain. My family breathed a sigh of relief.
Listen, when the weather is bad in Florida, you have to find other ways to amuse yourself! I hope the temperature starts warming up because these 55 and older folk don’t know what to do with themselves!
Banji Ganchrow of Teaneck is happy to be anywhere Husband#1 is, but she is especially happy when that place has an amazing assortment of delectable donuts….
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