Yesterday our staycation activities director packed her bags and prepared to leave. She reminded us of the terms and conditions of our contract. We agreed to return everything in the same or better condition, or we would forfeit our deposit. There was no way I was leaving my money on the table. So we took an inventory, created our marching orders, and went shopping. We included pantry supplies, staples, toilet paper, and dishwasher tablets on the list, along with a few goodies for our reentry into our regularly scheduled business operations.

As we loaded the car with provisions, snowflakes began to fall. Once again, they forecast an additional 5-9 inches of beautiful fluffy snow, slated to start Saturday night and finish late Sunday evening. I’m sure my sore muscles ordered another round of driveway shoveling. Soon we turn the page and start the longest month of the year. I don’t care if the calendar contradicts my assertion – I maintain my position that February, with its perpetual grey dreary days, lasts forever. It also marks the official kickoff of my countdown to Spring. Forty-seven sunrises to go.

This weekend we end our staycation and report back to work. We say goodbye to January, hello February, while we hit winter’s midpoint and move into the long transition to warmer weather. We have scheduled the arborist to fell my lovely but fatally infected, Blue Spruce. When circumstances are more appropriate, we will plant a new tree. A once necessary storage locker now stands empty, waiting to provide shelter for someone else’s precious belongings. I raise my glass of Brunello di Montalcino to cherish the memories and relish the future.

What are you celebrating?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer