Salt(water) in the wounds

My sister with the dolphins...may the fleas of a thousand camels infest her armpits!

My sister sent me some diving pictures from her recent cruise vacation.

Damn her!

Here we sit with the wind howling, the children home from school and the thermometer pegged at a chilly 2 degrees F. Diving pictures from the Caribbean? Sure, rub our noses in it! Pics of you diving with the friggin’ dolphins while we’re forced to burn the cats just to stay warm?

(Sorry cat lovers…a little wishful hyperbole there…)

We had hoped to go diving somewhere this winter, perhaps with my sister and her husband and son, but logistics (and the fact we have a Russian exchange student…that creates problems because of travel restrictions) prevented it. We’re stuck staying in the country and (pretty much) restricted to driving getaways for the duration of her stay. We’re planning a trip to Dollywood with the inlaws and their foster children for spring break…nothing like a little dose of redneck glitz to show a foreign visitor the REAL America.

Son-and-heir and the Rant-daughter have been making loud, obnoxious noises about taking another cruise…perhaps this time to the Western Caribbean or Mexico…maybe Belize…anywhere warm. Doc-wife keeps mentioning Alaska (no diving there, of course…we’re not drysuit certified!) I keep saying “okay, yeah, that’s nice…but we can’t go until early summer at the very earliest.”

And meanwhile, the wind continues to howl outside. And I keep getting emails announcing great cruise deals to somewhere, anywhere, warm. And I’ve got my sister’s photos to look at to remind me not everywhere is white, windy and wintry.

Thanks for the salt in the wound, sis! Maybe you should save it for the sidewalk!