What Makes You The Happiest in Florida?

Welcome to paradise.

The reasons for moving to Florida are about as varied as the people who move here.  But when talking to new residents, the weather is normally a factor even if it's not the biggest one.  I knew I was going to end up here when I was 10 years old and shoveling snow in mid-April.  That's not the life I wanted.

Don't get me wrong, I had lots of great friends where I grew up and I'm a history nerd so being born in Wollaston (modern day Boston) was a point of pride to me.  Even though Wollaston was named after a pirate who was generally considered an undesirable.  But, seriously how many people do you know who grew up in a town named for a pirate?  There really aren't too many of us.

At any rate, since moving to Florida, I have been surprised at the amount of time everyone spends outside.  To that end I couldn't be happier that our son loves the outdoors and is involved in a few sports that take place outdoors almost exclusively.  I feel bad for parents of hockey and basketball kids because they spend so much time inside.

Now, when I was in high school my track coach asked me to fill in for a couple of football players that had been thrown off the team for misbehavior.  I was moved from "track" to "field" to a sport I had never seen before and ended up loving it even though very few people understood what I did, how I trained and what my goals were.  I just loved being outside with my friends and trying to get better at my new sport.

Flash forward a few (too many) decades and now our Florida born son is enjoying a few outdoor sports that honestly became known after I left college.  Rocky has competed in Wakeboarding and currently holds a national title.  He loves to Skimboard, Skateboard, Wakeboard and now he's gotten into Wakeskating (like skateboarding on the water while being pulled by something)

Last year he met a professional Wakeskater and has ridden with him a few times.  So today, Alex Ambs gifted our son his signature board from Leaf Skates (a Florida Wakeskate Company).  That's right, it has taken me 7 paragraphs to say that being outdoors with my family while our son enjoys his passion is my favorite thing to do in Florida, 12 months out of the year.


Rocky getting his new (Pirate) board.



          

        

    



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