A decade ago, just before we married, the winter was brutally cold. I had some money to spend at the time, and we went to Disney World for a week to get warm, swim in the pool, and stuff ourselves with good and expensive goods.

By then, Disney was being completely corporatized, expensive, and extremely crowded, but the weather was beautiful, the pool was nearby, and the food was good. It was nice to get warm, but my head was ringing with screaming, exhausted children, pleading and edgy parents,  long lines, and cash registers ringing up endless souvenirs.

We went for a short visit one more time in one different winter (I was invited to speak at a vet conference); I can’t remember which one. That was our farewell visit to Disney.

Disney had become nearly overwhelmed with the crowds and is now ridiculously expensive.

The difference between Walt Disney and his corporate replacements is evident. He loved success but had limits. He never wanted Disney World to be so crowded you have to make reservations months in advance or cost a thousand dollars a day.  There was a magical quality to it that is long gone. The money people quickly canceled his vision of a revolutionary city for employees – free housing, school, health care – and Epcot Theme Park is not another money machine. No matter how brief, it’s not a vibe I want on a vacation.

He always thought of how things would seem to a child full of wonder. The wonder is long gone, and the ride wait is longer than ever.  A one-day ticket can cost up to $159 a day. The lines are so long that you must buy extra tickets to the front. It’s no longer magical to me.

I don’t think of going there anymore, not even in the winter. Apart from that, Florida seems to me to be getting a little creepy, edging to the new federation of angry hate states.

Maria and I are in a different place; we define wealth, happiness, and comfort differently. I would trade our winter evenings by the wood stove for Disney or anything like it. Our warmth comes from inside of us. We do not lead a life of fantasies. We seek a more straightforward and more meaningful kind of rest. And right now, we need one.

I wonder why, in America these days, the people with the least to complain about are the angriest and most complaining of anyone.

Our ideas of vacationing have evolved somewhat radically. Disney is no longer on our list of possible sites. We love an ancient Inn in Vermont instead. It is peaceful and quiet there; the rooms are beautiful and don’t ever have substantial TV screens, and the food is lovely. We honeymooned there, and we feel safe and comfortable there.

We’ve changed quite a bit since Disney. I should say that Maria would probably never have gone to Disney World if not for me; I took my daughter there a couple of times and always dreamed of going myself when I was younger. Our marriage has changed us, I’m more like her, and she is a little bit more like me (the good parts.) It’s a good mix for both of us, I think.

Having a lot of money was never good for me and did not make me happy. I was thrilled riding around with Maria on Christmas Day and delivering dinners to people who needed them. There are lessons there, and I am feeling them.

It’s almost impossible for us to rest on the farm; there is so much to do, and the Internet is a sinkhole with no escape. Social media messaging seems a bit of a curse to me. I do very little of it.

The animal care is not simple or easy. We don’t like being away for a week or two, and the money situation is different, as it is for everyone but the billionaires. We live more wisely. That was Maria’s work also.

I am very sorry to say neither of us has any families to visit, but not very; we are making and loving our own families. Life is what you make of it; we live very much in the now and happily. I’ve learned not to live by other people’s expectations but by my own. Maria’s simplicity is infectious.

I’m no longer a best-selling author (I have a very successful blog, thanks. Life is entirely of crisis and mystery) with big royalty checks, and I am happier than ever. Our Inn is not cheap, but the room costs would pay for about half a day at Disney World, and it is a lot nicer and more peaceful.

So we’ll be off around noon today. I’ve got the new “Maid” mystery, “The Mystery Guest,” by Nita Prose, and I can’t wait to get in the small reading room corner that is part of our room. It even has a bright reading lamp. I liked the first “Maid” book, it’s light and cheerful, the perfect escape mystery.  I’m also taking the novel “North Woods” by Daniel Mason.

It doesn’t have a TV or computer, and the iPhones will be off. How sweet. We’ll be back on Thursday and working a half-day through the weekend. Photos will continue, and words will be fewer. Have a wonderful week, please.

The agenda is rest, rest, more rest, and quiet. We need it and will return revived and at ease. It is our very safest place. We rest there as in no other place. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t had a trying year one way or another. Blessings to all of you. May the new year bring you peace and meaning and a break from drought, fires, and brutal storms.

I’ll share my lifelong motto: Do Not Let The Peckerheads and Toothless Ducks get you down. They will nibble you to death.