In My Perfect Universe

March in Miami. We had to sleep with the air conditioner on last night. The temperatures have picked up and it is starting to get uncomfortable. Then again, I’m a temperature enigma: I’ll be sweating and whiny about the weather one minute and then shivering cold with goose bumps after 15 minutes in an air conditioned car. However, I’d rather be cold than be hot. Still, I know that dreaded summer is coming. The only reason I REALLY liked summer in Wisconsin was because school was out and there are fireworks on the 4th of July. I’m sure there are a few more reasons, but really, if I could design myself a universe it would be fall for half of the year, winter for two months, spring for three months, and June for 30 days. I could skip my birthday in August and be ageless as well.

In a perfect universe I would also have a ton of energy. And there would be no such thing as caffeine because I wouldn’t need it. I used to be a great sleeper. I’ve always had the dual fortune and misfortune of incredibly vivid dreams. Sometimes it is entertaining to see what my brain cooks up when I’m asleep, but lately these dreams are EXHAUSTING even if they are not nightmares. I’ve always been a tosser and a turner, but ever since I’ve lived with J, I’ve become a light sleeper to boot. The smallest noise will wake me up- this is incredibly inconvenient when you have to sleep with the windows open (another reason I like AC—white noise). I’ve taken to sleeping with ear plugs in. This results in comical just-before-sleep conversations with J, but they do help some. In my perfect universe I’d have a couple of switches in my brain: 1. Stop worrying, 2. Let it go, that dude’s just a jerk, no need to get mad, and 3. No, thanks- I don’t feel like dreaming tonight. Oh, and 4. Sleep immediately.

In my perfect universe the dishes would do themselves. Laundry would be free and do itself too. Spring cleaning would only take an afternoon. And I would tackle my to-do list: each item, every time. I’ve got a painting half-done, staring at me. I currently hate it. I’ve got dust bunnies mocking me from underneath the bed and couches. And I HAD a blog post nagging me in back of my head, but I’m conquering that “to-do” as I type. I shouldn’t be too hard on myself, though. We did get quite a bit accomplished recently. J filed taxes. We finally got decent frames for our wedding photos and they are hung. J started an herb garden that sits neatly on a window-sill. I started following a budget- not that I’m a big spender (and I’ve almost always balanced my checkbook) but it’s good to know where the money is going. Still… I really hate laundry.

My current universe is about to get a little more perfect. There is an impending arrival of several very important individuals. My mom, dad, and lil’ brother are coming to visit and I’ve been counting down the days in my planner. I keep seeing things in Miami thinking, “oh- they’ll like that” and “let’s be sure to drive this route with them.” I’m so excited to see them. It will be nice for them to see what I see and know what I mean when I talk about people, places, and things down here. J is able to go back to Wisconsin in May and I’m terribly jealous. I want to see family and friends. I want to eat cheese curds and frozen custard. I want to spend a week at my parent’s cabin reading books and sitting by a fire. Harrumph. Plus, he’ll be leaving me. All by myself. I am kind of dreading the ten days. I have “people I know” down here. J has some friends we’ve hung out with, but it is not the same as being able to call up all my friends and demand dinner dates, coffee runs, and movie extravaganzas. I enjoy my alone time probably more than most people. I can be a hermit and sometimes get sick of humans really fast, but still, I like my husband on those days and I’ll miss him when he’s in WI. (Eating delicious cheese and burgers and brats and being around friendly people and hearing the Northern accent and driving on relatively safe roads with 80% of the population being competent drivers…)

The new job is going well. I’ll withhold comment until I’ve been there long enough (one of the weeks I worked most people were gone for Spring Break). Some days are more tiring than others- hence the wish for a to-do list that does itself. The job has also allowed us to spend a bit more money and actually GO places. We’ve been to an NHL game (Florida Panthers- Go Cats!) and had a couple of dinner dates. Today we explored a cheaper botanical garden. I’m still partial to deciduous trees, but it was nice. Hot… I won’t be hanging out in a rainforesty place in the summer, but it was interesting. We’ve taken in more scenery… even if it is driving past some of the rich-people houses and gawking at their “humble lodgings.” When we are on lunch we sit by fountains or under trees- nature helps ease my anxieties. I’ve seen more turtles than I can count down here. Our campus has a pond full of them, as did the botanical garden. Anyone who knows me well knows I kind of have a thing for turtles. (Turtles and pandas and orangutans and hummingbirds and okapis and hippos and dogs and pythons [I’ll never pass up an Animal Planet special on them] and tree frogs… etc etc) We also took in the giant moon a couple of days ago. It was HUGE. Very cool. We started walking on the bridge that leads to Biscayne Bay and as we turned a corner there was a giant orange disc sitting in the sky at an angle that made it look like it was on the high point of the bridge ready to roll down at us in a moment. Paired with the Miami skyline at night it was very impressive.

There are some interesting sights in Miami. I’m glad we have funds to explore a bit of them now. I’m enjoying being married. It is just the two of us and we both believe it has been good for building the foundations of a partnership. To quote a movie I recently watched, “Me and you- just us two.” However, in a perfect universe I could teleport myself to my childhood home in seconds to have dinner with my family, see my lil’ brother’s concerts (he’s a trumpeter), nab friends for coffee, and take a break from the Miami heat.