Miami, mi ami?

One good girlfriend of mine is a fan of Miami like no other. She loves Miami so much that when her Italian husband sweetly asked her, "Mi ami? (do you love me?)" she gently corrected him, "No baby, you pronounce it Miami." I love that girl. But I felt the same way hearing Miami ask if I loved her as I packed up and got ready to leave. "Mi ami?" the palms swayed and asked....

I had gotten used to our little condo, the beautiful morning sunrise that I could watch from the bed, breakfast on the terrace, walking on the beach while the maid cleaned our room, and happy hour before bed. I got used to the colors and the palm trees and wearing my sandals and shorts everyday.

 I loved hearing Cubans speak Spanish to each other and trying to communicate in the Spanish I grew up with which is a different dialect. I loved cafe' con leche. I loved watching the people on the street talk with emotion, see the buildings painted different bright colors and feel the sun on my skin. I felt at home. In Miami they speak Italian, Cuban and English. I can do that! There is sun. I can do that too! There is 90% humidity. Ok, maybe I can only do Miami in the winter.

The point is, that I really grew to love the little place where we stayed and loved feeling the warm weather and seeing the bright colors. It reminded me of life. It reminded me of people that I know and love that live showing their emotions. I surprised myself by not wanting to return home at all. I dragged my feet to pack and wondered, "What if I quit my job today and just stay here? Life is short! I will do it!" I imagined applying for jobs and getting interviewed and being able to wear lime green cotton dresses to work everyday and dance every night. I imagined eating tropical fruit and eventually becoming an expert snorkeler. If being a Librarian didn't work out I imagined becoming a tour guide, why not? 

We boarded the plane and the captain said it was a great day to fly northeast. The temperature in Miami was 75 F and in Newark, NJ it was 26 F. I didn't want to go. I didn't want to go. Finally the plane took off and childishly some tears came out. Damn cold northeast! Upon arriving we saw from the plane that the land was chilled with ice and snow. We both thought of forcing the captain to make a U-turn immediately.

Welcome back to New Jersey

Now we are home and I can say from my sun-kissed soft skin is, "Miami, ti amo."