The Courting Chairs

 The Courting Chairs

 

February is often viewed as a dismal month. The days are shorter, meaning darkness falls early. The dreary winter days are often marked by colder temperatures. 

The month is so dismal it has been declared one of the highest times of the year for people to suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder…SAD. It is a type of depression brought on by the dark and often cold winter months.

 

This year, my mother and I traveled from our home in Ohio to spend the month of February at the Waters’ family home on a beautiful lake in Florida. It is kind of a “vaccine” against SAD. Or sadness. 

We’re from the Sunshine State, so for us it is “going home” and going home tends to cure many illnesses.

 

The weather has been perfect. We’ve walked every day in the Florida sunshine. We’ve visited with many family and friends. We’ve picked Japanese plums and vibrant pink azaleas. It has been so warm and so relaxing we tend to forget it is February.

 

My mother and I actually made plans to do this last summer before Mike and I started seriously dating. 

Mike lives in the same neighborhood as the Lake House. It has been wonderful to see him nearly every day, share meals, and get to know his family better. My Waters family has graciously welcomed him as a new member of our tribe.

 

Sometimes, in the evening after dinner, Mike will come over and take a couple of lawn chairs down near the water’s edge. The two of us sit, talk, and enjoy the lake views. 

 

My mom calls the lawn furniture our “courting chairs.” 

The "Courting Chairs"
Lakeside

 

I embrace the notion that although we are to be married in April, we are still “courting.” There is always gentle breeze in the evening, causing the Spanish moss to sway in the cypress trees. 

Occasionally, a boat comes by or a fish jumps. As we sit together by the lake, we exchange stories of our childhood and memories of our high school days. We share our dreams for the future.

 

Mike makes me laugh. I love his stories and the way he can find humor in any situation.

 

Laughing... Talking... Sharing... Dreaming….Courting.

 

I hope we never get so lost in the busyness of life that we stop courting. 

 

We won’t always be at the Lake House. Once we marry in April, we’ll spend time in both Ohio and Florida. We hope to travel and have compiled a bucket list of experiences and destinations we will both enjoy.

 

But wherever we land, I hope we’ll always remember to claim a couple of “courting chairs” to enjoy the stillness of the evening and our dreams for tomorrow.