It's been a long time! To even try to tell you everything that happened in the interim to catch you up, would take way too long, so I'm going to give you the "Readers Digest" version.
When last I posted on my blog, my husband and I had just sent our son and his family home from visiting us in Fort Myers, Florida, back in March of 2012. In April of that same year, we headed North to our home in Ohio. I was more than ready to go home after spending close to a year in sunny Florida.
For about a month and a half, everything was pretty normal in our lives. Mowing the grass, planting flowers and the garden. Then, on June 6th, everything changed. My younger son and his two children moved in with us, in our little house intended for two. We were thankful we could help them, and, truth be told, we enjoyed very much having them with us. We knew we weren't going to be able to spend the winter of 2012/2013 in Florida, but as it turned out, that was the biggest blessing we had. We just didn't realize it at the time.
Since I was at home, instead of in Florida, I spent quite a lot of time with my mother, who was 87 at the time. I cherished every minute spent with her. Though mom was up there in years, and her body wearing out, her mind was like a steel trap. She hadn't forgotten anything, ever! I loved talking with her, listening to her stories, sharing her adventures with me, just being together. As it turned out, that would be the last winter I would ever have with my mom. I'm so thankful I wasn't in Florida, that I got to spend those last winter days with mom.
In February of 2013, mom came down with the flu. She ended up in the hospital emergency room, she was so very sick. When they tested her to make sure she had the flu, then confirmed it to her, she said, "Oh no! Old people get the flu and die!" She did just that days later. Had we been in Florida... Well, we weren't, and I thank God for that always.
In June, just three month later, my sons grandfather, their fathers father, also died. Their last grandparent. He left my two boys a nice inheritance, and my son who was living with us, bought a house, and he and the kids moved about four miles away. This made it possible for us to spend the winter, this winter, in Florida.
So, here we are. Living our second leg of our retirement journey. This time, we're in Naples, Florida instead of Ft. Myers. We've only been here three days, however, I do believe we're going to like it much better here.
I've been having some pretty serious back issues for about six weeks or so, and I'm hoping and praying this warm weather will help me immensely. The cold is very hard on my old bones, so, this warm is such a welcome relief!
Okay, I've caught you up. Now I'm going to keep you posted on our "adventures". I know, you're thrilled! Me too. But right now, I'm going to get comfy in my recliner, put my feet up, and watch some television. I'll talk to you soon!
