Spring Break 2009

If you’ve been wondering where I have been the last week, I took a break. I suppose proper blogging etiquette would say I should have posted a warning, but I didn’t. I admit it was my guilt. I guess I thought if I just disappeared no one would know my plan was to get on a plane and head for warmer weather.

I hadn’t yet reconciled with the fact that it was OK to need the break, even though some might argue I have been on a break since last August. I hadn’t come to terms with the idea that I was going against today’s constant current of hoarding what money is saved and living with a vision of scarcity. Instead I was going to splurge a few dollars, or as I see it now, invest them.

So last Thursday, I boarded a plane out of LGA for South Beach. While many things have changed over the years, my love of the beach has not. I was and always will be a beach bum. While many extol the evils of the sun on our skin I believe a good sunscreen, large hat, moderation and a big umbrella will let just enough Vitamin D soak in and restore perspective to life. Besides there is nothing quite like the sound of the ocean to soothe the soul.

And it did. I checked into the Sagamore Hotel. I did not write. I did not blog. I did not think about my dwindling 401K. I sat on my chaise lounge and let my mind empty, thankful when the person next to me was speaking French and I could dream only of the South of France.

My change of scenery proved the perfect antidote to this very long, cold and snowy winter. As I toasted the first day of spring under the shade of a palm tree, I was reminded of how important it is to not hold on to tightly in these times. A little letting go opens up so much more. As if to prove my point and that my investment in myself was wise, the Universe gave me the grandest of winks. The stock market finished the week up.