Happy New Year Main Streeters! Here we are, the first Florida Living blog update for 2017! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and are ready to get this year started, I know I am! Lets go!
The last time we spoke, I was still on Christmas vacation back home in Michigan. Spending the holidays in Michigan is something I can’t imagine not doing. Do I like the cold weather, oh heck no. But I do enjoy seeing the people I love. I knew that our visit was going by fast, so I wanted to squeeze in as much as I could before it was time to head back to Florida. Thursday night was girls night with my friends. We had dinner then went out to a new club for a quick drink. I miss those girls….. and I miss not having opportunities like that here in Florida. I wish I could fly Michelle and Paula in for the weekend every few months, just to have fun, eat bad food, have cocktails, and be silly. Maybe go dancing too? In the mean time, I’ll take what I can get when I go home. We had a good time. Friday night, we went to our favorite coney island restaurant in my old town, Allen Park. It’s so funny that people here in the south have no idea what a “coney island” is! For those who don’t know, it’s a diner where you can eat yummy food for pretty cheap. Coney hot dogs, chili cheese fries, gyros, etc…. so good. Shout out to Leo’s Coney Island, we miss you!
On Saturday, we knew time was running out for going places we wanted to go, but it was also New Year’s Eve, so we had to get busy. For lunch we went to have Chinese food with the boys, their favorite place. It’s funny because the staff there still knows us, and they still remember what we order, even though we only see them every six months now. Lunch was good. Really good. When we were leaving, Scott told the owner that they need a restaurant like theirs down in Florida, because we have no good Chinese food here. She laughed and said that she’s heard that before about the south. If only they had express delivery at least. Kidding… sort of. That night, a town nearby was doing their first outdoor New Year celebration, with a band and a ball drop at two different times, 9 o’clock and midnight. That’s where we decided to go with my mom and dad. When we headed out, we got a decent parking spot, bundled up, and walked over to the party area. Oh. My. Gosh. It was cold. It’s in Wyandotte, which is by the water (Detroit River) and the wind was going right through us. Being that we aren’t used to cold weather anymore, my little family was freezing, and that’s not fun. We lost our Michigan cold weather cred, big time! They had one “warming tent” but it was packed, of course. Because it was cold! So we decided to eat at a Mexican place that was right there, we watched the 9 pm ball drop, then decided to go home and watch the new year roll in on television instead. Not the New Year’s Eve we planned, but at least we were warm!
New Year’s Day was our last full day in Michigan, and it was a busy one. We had visiting to do, plus laundry and packing. Getting ready to leave is something I dread, I always stress. In the morning, my brother and sister in law came over to visit and say goodbye for now. I know I say it a lot, but I love my new sister, Amee. I wish I could steal her and bring her here (along with my friends, see above) every so often too. Being away from the people you love most is the hardest part of moving here. I hate, hate, hate saying goodbye. This time I vowed not to cry, because I was coming down with a cold and I knew tears would make the headache worse, plus I didn’t want anyone else to feel sad either. After Greg and Amee left, we headed out to see my Grandma. My Gram is really awesome, and I value her so much. My boys love their Nana too. They like to measure up to her every time they see her. She’s a little Sicilian lady, and they both have passed her up height wise, Andrew more than Aidan of course, but it’s a running joke when they see her. That’s one thing about living across the country from your family. When you DO get to see them, you appreciate the time you have even more so than when you lived close by. I guess before, I took things for granted, because everyone was right around the corner. Moving away really has changed my perspective. Another thing…. I find myself making sure I tell them all that I love them before I go. Life is rough, and nothing is a guarantee, so that’s really important to me as well. So we saw my Gram, then went home for my Dad’s spaghetti dinner, packed our stuff and went to bed. The plan was to leave at 4:00 in the morning… sigh.
The night before heading back to Florida is always rough, I never sleep. I’m not sure if it’s anticipation for the long drive ahead, worries about leaving, or just a combination of things. I think I slept maybe 3 hours at best, then we got up and headed out. Saying goodbye for now to my parents is always hard, I absolutely hate it. Ok, I hate saying bye to ALL of them there, it never gets easier. My hope is that some of them will come and visit me soon, the weather is better here, so that’s incentive. On the drive back home, we were making excellent time, then the rain hit. The weather was awful, and added about 4 additional hours to our journey. We got home so late, and were exhausted. In the morning though, we had our Florida Christmas and the boys got to open their gifts that were waiting for them. That’s always fun. School started back up today, and things are getting back to normal, slowly but surely. I’m thankful that we were able to spend Christmas break with family and friends. The only part I wish was different, was that we should have had more family get togethers. Usually we have a few outings or parties, and this time there was only one. I don’t know, maybe everyone else was beat down and tired from 2016 too. Maybe we can fix that for next year, I guess we shall see.
So that’s it, our year opener for Florida Living, as yes, I am indeed back in Florida. I’m happy about that. When we were driving home Monday night, and turned on the freeway closer to the house, you could see Cinderella Castle all lit up off in the distance. That to me is also “home.” Never in my wildest dreams, did I ever think that I could consider two places to be home to us, and have the opportunity to enjoy both worlds. When I’m here in Florida, and think of our old lives in Michigan, it feels like a different universe, like I’m playing a mind movie of someone else’s life. When we go home, and drive down our old street or go to our old stomping grounds, memories flood back at me, and remind me of what was and the good and bad that came with that. It still boggles me, but I’m trying to make heads or tails of this crazy world that I live in now. 2016 was total crap, to put it bluntly, but that’s in the past. We’re back in Florida now and are ready to get back to work. Each year I say I want to push TMSM forward to be bigger and better, and I’m saying that yet again. The sky is the limit, and I’m hopeful. Plus, I can’t wait to get back to Disney in the next few days, so stay tuned for more. I have missed it. I’m back… it’s a new year and a new start for this Disney girl…. lets do this! Thank you as always for keeping up with me each week, and for sticking by us for the past year once again. You’ll never know how much our Disney community means to me. Until next week, sending you lots of hugs, blessings and pixie dust…. See ya real soon ! ~M
Michele also contributes theme park news for Fox 35 Orlando 11pm news and on the radio on WDBO.
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