Christmas in Florida

Christmas in Florida, does it get any better than this?  As a transplanted “Yankee” it seems to me that I have the best of both possible worlds…. As in the battle between “Crackers” the original Floridians and the transplants, better known with the dreaded term “Yankees”.  After living this long in Florida I can say the word “Yankee” with the proper amount of derision, as in November when the roads, restaurants and stores clog up… “The YANKeees are back!”  Oh, I know that after living in Florida for 22 years I am still considered a rookie Floridian and can never aspire to the title “Cracker”.  But we transplants from the frozen north have something that no native Floridian can have, wonderful memories and first hand knowledge of a “White Christmas”.

 Our mind is a wonderful thing and with time all that is bad about living in the north fades and we just remember the nice times. We remember the times that all were home for Christmas and there was an inviting fire in the fireplace and the snow was building up on the ground.  Everyone has his or her special memories.  The top one for me was getting up early, real early, Christmas morning and getting my little daughter up and going out and delivering Christmas packages to needy families.  We often would make the first tracks in the new overnight snowfall.  We would pick up 5 or 6 big sacks of goodies filling the car and start looking for the addresses.  Always they were in the not so nice parts of town.  Being real early Christmas morning, we had to have the packages delivered by 6 AM, most homes would be dark and we would leave the sack on the porch.  But on occasion we would see a little face peeking out of the window in excited anticipation.  As my little daughter struggled with the big sack, sometime it was bigger than she, but she always had to carry it up to the door, we were treated to the delight that only can be seen on an excited kid Christmas morning.  After all was delivered, the ride home was the best.  We had done our good deed; we could look forward to the warmth of home, hot chocolate and a family Christmas.

 Fond memories are heartwarming; we must not forget the downside of living in the north to really appreciate a Florida Christmas. For every White Christmas there were ten of the dull dreary brown Christmases.  Or maybe 5 dirty slushy Christmases with dirty snow and slush making getting out nasty and slippery with some ice under the slush. I remember not taking advantage of a nice weekend in early November, (if there was one!) and having to put up outdoor Christmas decorations in the freezing cold with fingers so cold they could not operate.   I can remember driving home from Vermont (our home for two years after marriage)  to Pennsylvania one night just before Christmas on icy roads that had you on edge every minute of that eight-hour trip.  We would be all ready and right after work we would take off. (We were young and stupid, at the time and certainly did not have the money to stay at a motel!)  It took hours to calm down when we finally got home that Christmas.  One morning in Vermont it was a perfectly calm sunny day with new fallen snow, unfortunately it was 20 degrees below zero.  Of course the car would not start, so I start to walk the half-mile to work, after all it was sunny and calm…. Wrong!  ‘Bout died before I got to work!  Each one of you fellow transplants has a dreaded Christmas or wintertime memory. 

But those memories make living in Florida even better.  Enjoy putting up Christmas decorations in shirtsleeves rather than parkas.  Enjoy the ability to drive anywhere any time without slush covering your windshield.  Enjoy coming out of a movie and not getting hit with that blast of cold air and never have to wonder whether the car would start!

 And at Christmas 2000 we are at peace, we finally have a President (and all is well he is a Republican!, just had to say it!) and we can appreciate the good times and the wonderful opportunity we have to enjoy Christmas in Florida.  With a cold snap to remind us a bit of the northern Christmas, this Christmas Eve we can enjoy our Bucs on TV playing in the frozen turf of Lambeau Field in the frozen north of Green Bay.  We know that they are in the playoffs and not facing a must win situation.  We can sit back and enjoy the game and let the cold and icy conditions, maybe snow remind us of the blessing of living in Florida.  Merry Christmas and enjoy a warm and sunny Christmas morning and remember the blessing of Christmas in Florida.  I do so every morning!

Related column that expands on the delivering of Christmas packages Christmas morning... Click!