Cuba...basking in the hot sun, strolling along white beaches, swimming in turquoise waters, lazing by the pool...it's our annual getaway. Hubby's two brothers started going to the same place about 17 years ago. Now there are only four of us left (though his daughter and sister might join us for the last two weeks).

It's not just a holiday, though it's definitely an escape from the cold. We also take a lot of stuff there for the friends and families we've adopted over the years. Everything from life-saving heart medication to sewing kits, crank flashlights and hot wheels and frisbees for the children. It's one of our passions in life, shopping all year for stuff to take...then trying to get it all in the baggage without going over the airline weight allowance - while still managing to take enough clothes to wear while we're there! (Last year we got down there and I had brought only one pair of shoes besides the sneakers I wore down (which we had planned to give away at the end of the vacation) - a ragged pair of beach sandals. They didn't look so hot when I tried to dress up in the evenings...especially with all the gorgeous Italian women around! LOL. It's always a juggling act.

Anyway, one of our best friends there is a doctor, but hopefully this menopause thing is just that, a menopause thing that won't require anything more than time and patience.