Nicole

Nicole is a fairy child/woman, beautiful of face, form, and personality.  She looks so much like her mother, Shelley, did at this age and, surprising to me, has begun to even sound like her.

When I was writing about Faye, Marilee, and me going to Jake's rowing races, I forgot to mention how Nicole had to help us to sit on the grass, digging in her heels to gently lower our old bodies so we wouldn't crash like aged timber on the ground.  We sat right in front of the lake, a marshy and reedy wetland a few feet in front of us and I began to picture the moment that Nicole would be hauling us back up to our feet.  I could just see me rising up with momentum that would toss us both into the water...I tend to worry about everything...so, when it was time to get up, I made sure I was turned in a way that wouldn't happen.  Sweet Nicole took such good care of her Gramma and Aunties!

All of my grandchildren are completely comfortable dealing with their older relatives because they've been brought up to have close ties with us.  We're an integral part of their lives and that's the way all families should be.

How lucky we are.

Sisters-In-Law

I've been blessed with some pretty fantastic in-laws, some I love like my own blood relatives.  Faye and Marilee are 2 of the best sisters-in-law that anyone could ask for and they love me enough to leave their gorgeous, large rental in Largo to stay in my tiny little trailer for a few days.

We've had a few adventures while they've been here... housewarming at Sam's and Nicole's, a bit of shopping, watching Jake in a rowing race, enjoying Canada Day dinner and entertainment, etc.  We're going to the flea market today and then meeting some more in-laws (Faye's) for dinner at Mannie's.

I hate to see them leave tomorrow but I'll go over to stay with them in 2 weeks.  They've found a couple of interesting Newfoundland bars and I want to go there with them.

Faye just took over a condo apartment at home after selling her house and her kids will have it all painted and a bit furnished for her when she gets home.  She's feeling guilty about them having to do this but they love their mother fiercely and will do whatever they can to make her life a good one.  I can't wait to get home and furniture shop with her.

Right now Faye and Marilee are out for a morning walk but I prefer to sit here and play on the computer.  I accept that I'm too lazy to go walking and my diet is not great...BUT...it's also true that I'm too old to die young so I plan to do just what makes me happy.  Playing on the computer makes me happier than a walk in the park.

Anyway, for those of us who have in-laws that became good friends, we are blessed to the max.  

Done and Neat

This is the almost finished product.  The next phase will be next winter when the tile floor will be replaced with a light shade of laminate and the futon will be replaced with a nice sofa bed in a light beige.  I need light colors around me.

Kevin removed the upper part of the desk which I think looks much airier now.  He also suggested hanging both blinds at the same height which gives the illusion of 2 large windows instead of 1 large and 1 small.  I like this very much.

I'm also not going to bring the desk chair back in.  I'll use one of the kitchen chairs or maybe buy a new desk chair next year.

I'm very happy with the repair.  It feels good knowing (hoping) that there will be no more water damage for a long, long time. 

The Mess of Construction

It is very difficult to do any construction inside a trailer because there's nowhere to push stuff out of the way.  Wherever you push it, it's in the way of something else!  

This was the way my poor little trailer looked while Kevin and Paul were replacing the 2 windows and repairing one wall and floor.  I'm not crazy about having the one tipout floor raised like this but Kevin was afraid to remove too much of the tipout to repair it and this was his choice.  I can live with it!  The most important thing was putting in new windows to prevent more water damage.

Elvis and Me

I looked forward to tonight's show at the clubhouse because we were having an Elvis impersonator.  Tickets sold out quickly but I got one!

This is how it went.  Carol went over at 2 P.M. to put our name tags on a table...we were told we couldn't do it until then.  Funny but there was hardly a table left when Carol got there at 1:55!  We squawked a bit about that but we did get a table near the front and that's really all that matters.  

Dinner was to be served at 5 P.M. so I left the trailer a little past 4:30 only to see a long, long lineup at the front door of the clubhouse.  Apparently we wouldn't be allowed in until some unspecified time.  I really hate that this practice is making a comeback where we seniors have to line up in all kinds of weather instead of just going inside to our already designated tables and being able to socialize until dinner.  I decided that I won't be attending too many more dinners if this is the case.

Anyway, the doors opened around 4:45 and we went inside and each lady was given a lovely long stemmed rose.  The hall was nicely decorated and there was a huge layout of salad and dressing where we could help ourselves.  Nicely decorated cupcakes were at each table, too.  My table mates, Shirley, Buddy, Carol, and Lloyd arrived soon after and we settled in...pretty cramped but not too bad.

At 5 P.M. dinner was served and, man, was it one excellent dinner.  Baked potato, corn, and more darned sliced roast beef for each person that I've ever seen.  It was all hot and very tasty!  Dessert was the cupcakes but also a chocolate fountain with fresh fruit was offered.  I ate some of the cupcake but had no more tummy room for even one chocolate covered strawberry.

Then Elvis made his appearance.  OMG, the women yelled and cheered and the men kind of did, too.  We didn't know what to expect but this guy (never found out his real name) was probably late 30's and good looking.  He had a terrific voice even though he didn't sound exactly like Elvis.  We didn't care.  He sang all the old Elvis songs and we sang right along with him.  He sauntered around the room and loved up on a lot of the ladies, too.  Some of the ladies surprised us.  Molly even gave his butt a little feel.  I was going to offer him my trailer key but lost my nerve.

The highlight for me was when Judy took a scarf he'd given her (I got a kiss and a hug but no scarf), ran across the room where he was singing and wrapped the scarf around his waist, dragging him back to where we were sitting.  I stood up and told him to sit down...he did.  I sat on his lap and he sang to me.  Oh, my!  I was nice, though, and gave Carol a chance to sit on his lap before he moved on.

We all had so much fun tonight and I think he did, too.  It seemed like everyone was singing and laughing the whole evening.  Molly even tossed him a large pair of ladies undies (hope they were new). When the show was over, Laverne came over to me and gave me the scarf that Elvis had given her.  She knows how much I love Elvis and she said she wanted me to have it because she's my friend.  How precious is that?

If all our entertainment at the clubhouse was this much fun and if we always had the kind of park manager we do now, I'd never want to leave this place.  I feel bad for the residents who chose not to come tonight or who missed out on a ticket.  I hope we are lucky enough to have more evenings like this.  It was special!   

Goodbye, Friend

The Florida park where I winter will probably always hold amazing memories for me, and today will be one of them.

One of our winter residents passed away and his memorial service was held today.  Gary was terribly ill with metastasized cancer and knew he had little time left but he told his wife, Jan, that he wanted to come to Florida and end his days here.  This brought the memory back to me of Dennis' final days when we managed one week in March, 2005, to be at the park here before his health failed rapidly and we had to hurry home.  His comment to me was that at least he'd gotten to see Florida one last time.  It wasn't "Florida" that he meant but the good people in our park that had become almost like family to us.

When Gary passed away we all gave our support to Jan... many of us have lost our spouses and understand what she is experiencing.  We're old enough to have attended many funerals and, even though there aren't any words to really help, a comforting hug or just someone to sit with for a while is a blessing to someone who has just lost a loved one.

Jan has shown a strong exterior since Gary passed but we're not fooled.  She and Gary had been married 43 years and your mate becomes almost part of your skin when you've been together that long.  If they die before you, it's akin to an amputation which requires extensive healing time.

Jan's son and daughter made the trip here for the memorial service and I'm sure they were as amazed as I was how many of our park residents attended it.  Our clubhouse was packed and many spoke out about how Gary had impacted their lives.  I am Jan's friend but never got to know Gary very well but I heard from so many what a kind and helpful man he was to everyone.   One of the stories told was how, while he was too ill to physically help one of our neighbors, he offered to go to their home and explain what needed to be done.  Helpful to the end!

When Gary knew his time was near, he told Jan he wanted 2 of his favorite songs sung at his memorial.  He was a religious man so I wasn't surprised at his first choice which was beautifully sung by our park manager, Sandy.  I'm not a religious lady so I don't know the name of the song.  His second choice was understandable, too.  "Country Roads" extols the beauty of his home state of West Virginia and that was the song that did me in.  Sandy and 3 others stood at the microphone and sang it more beautifully than I've ever heard before and then some of our park residents joined in.  I hope Gary heard it wherever he is on his journey.  I felt such a love and pride for these good people who have all traveled from different states and provinces to settle in this park.  

There is a time to live and a time to die so let's live while we can and, when our lives come to an end, hope we're remembered with love.