BACK FROM FLORIDA
I definitely married the right man. Not only is he wonderful, but his family really couldn't be nicer too. We went to Florida yesterday (returning late today) to visit Mark's family one last time before we leave, and in spite of the Red Tide, which contributed to dreadful air quality, we had a fantastic time. His parents, grandmother, and siblings have really been incredibly supportive of us and our desire to see the world, which is not something I want to take for granted. I occasionally hear stories about scary in-laws from friends of mine, and I'm so glad that neither I nor Mark can relate. We both really like our in-laws.
I really enjoyed visiting Florida too. We saw manatees today off the dock at Mark's parents house and several jumping mullets (fish, not hair), and later driving around I saw a kingfisher, and several cormorants. Yesterday a large blue heron landed in front of the window, and last night, when hit with a middle-of-the-night panic attack of the "what are we doing! we're going to be jobless and homeless in three weeks!" variety, I went out and sat on the dock to watch the waves and stare at the never-ending expanse of stars and sky and, in-spite of Red Tide air quality which left me with a sore throat this morning, I felt calmed and centered by all the beauty of the natural surroundings. Florida really is a beautiful state, in spite of all the over-development, strip-malls, and Jeb Bush.