Friday of last week I was all set to go to the Bahamas. I have been about a half dozen times, with my family, and last year with my mom. So this year for spring break, we decided to go again, just the two of us. We booked in January, so I've been ready, very ready.
With the work load seemingly ever-increasing at school, and the dull cold yuck of winter never lifting, it was time. It was totally time to get away, to be warm, to see the sun.
Well, Friday afternoon I was packed, excited, anxious, and ready to get the hell out of dodge. I got all the way down to my car, a couple of heavy bags in hand, and my car was dead. Donzo. Super silent. Not even a light. Nothing.
And you best believe I lost it, right then and there.
But thank God for friends, and for AAA, and really dedicated tow truck drivers.
Within two hours my car was on a truck bed and headed back to Montpelier, without me. Of course I got a ride home, and all seemed well. It just took about five hours longer than I wanted. That's the nature of vacation though, right? Something must go wrong before it can all go right...
Somehow that was quite enough "wrong." And in the midst of final packing, double and triple checking everything that night, the trip fell right out from under our feet. It was a silly little, who-would-have-ever-thought-that-would-happen horrible moment.
But by 10:30 that night, we weren't going to the Bahamas.
I have no way to accurately express how devastated I was. How horribly and unbelievably upset I was. I couldn't believe it. I could not wrap my head around how something so solid, so close, had just evaporated before my eyes.
It's not about the tropical vacation, the jetting off to another country, the resort, or even the incredibly delicious food. It's about the sun, and the warmth, and finally being able to take more than two steps away from school. It's about the vitamin D, and fresh air. It's about a refreshed perspective, and a final countdown until summer. Spring break has become this checkpoint for me. The first half of the second semester, when I cannot fathom gaining my footing after winter break, is focused on getting to spring break. Because I know, if I can just be warm, if I can just see the sun, if I can just be removed long enough - have that reprieve, I can make it through the semester.
To suddenly not see that reprieve, not see that chance to physically and emotionally recharge, was terrifying.
Long story not-so-short, by 1:30 that same morning we booked a trip to Disney. Which is not just the happiest place on Earth, it is my happiest place on Earth. And it was positively everything I could have asked for.
While for a few
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