Dear Eddie,

Spring Break in St. Augustine! Even with Covid carefulness, we did not forget our dedication to a two night minimum getaway. We celebrate the couple time of shorter dates, for sure, but it takes that long for us to really relax. You insist that we set the quarterly goal, but you also insist that we follow through. Thank you for that persistence.

Spring Break took working together. Planning and carrying out a plan makes for conversations that are out of our ordinary interests. There is planning what to do together, there are the actual trips, and there are the shared memories to revisit. All three contribute to our shared history, our couple glue.  Our planning starts with joint idea popping. Then it is my turn as the dot and diddle girl to visit the websites, check out the maps, find the lodging, and survey possible things to do. Your job is to keep bugging until I get a plan. Your question is often, “How are we coming?” Then, we get to take off.

Spring Break fit our pattern. First, we got quiet. This time the quiet was in full amazement that we were actually “on the road,” not having been “off the corner,” as your mother used to say, since October.

On the road, our Spring Break chatter began and mixed new experiences  with old memories. The further south we got, the more south Georgia bloomed; the more the red maples and the yellow Jessamine winding in the treetops showed their faces. Do you remember?…the Savannah meeting, the Okefenokee field trip? On arrival, we had our expected last scuffle over traffic, directions, u-turns, all much simplified by GPS…and lightened by the memories. Do you remember?…San Francisco in the dark with the firetrucks at the hotel?…the Kleinschmidt Grade, and “Here’s Johnnie?”  And we did find our hotel, fed ourselves and chilled.

Waking, we activated our Spring Break plan with travel brochures, maps, and the weather app. In St. Augustine, we wanted to explore the Castillo San Marcos and the old town, and we wanted beach time and shrimp. We started with a city tour, your forever go to,—let someone else do the driving.  Do you remember?…D.C., Baltimore, Seville, Montelcino, Quebec                      ? Hopping on and off, exploring, chattering, eating, and, oh look, Sylvia’s forever go to, a cruise–a little history, a lot of sun and wind, and snuggling tight for warmth. We could almost hear harbor pirates growling, “Covid be hanged!” And off for the shrimp tacos. Waking again, we headed to the beach for more sun and wind, not warm, but, wrapped in jeans and jackets, we walked and basked and enjoyed a picnic with an expectant gull. Heading north toward home, we felt delighted with our experiences and with each other.

Thank you, dear heart, for prioritizing us. Yes, we have indeed checked off our two night getaway for winter quarter. I am looking forward to another Spring Break run with you real soon when Michigan comes out of the snow.

Much love,  Sylvia