Rockingrama's Reflections: rockingrama (Paula)
Hello netfriends! It's been a while. My husband and I have been traveling around the country, back and forth from Texas where we live to Florida, then Colorado, then Kansas and back home again. It was a fun time filled with family and new experiences, but we are both more than ready to be back and into our zone of familiar friends and routines. Funny how a person looks forward so much to vacation time but looks forward just as much to getting back to the routine they escaped. Is this a loop???, hmmm....maybe worth further consideration. Another time.
Our Florida trip was almost a month long and we combined many things we've been wanting to do with visits to Bill's family in Lakeland and mine in St. Augustine. Between Lakeland and St. Augustine we spent time at our timeshare in Orlando and participated in some of the local hoopla, including Kennedy Space Center and Water World. Mostly we just hung at the resort though because everything we wanted was really there. We had a great view of the lake from our screened in veranda and plenty of opportunities for fine (and not so fine) dining and viewing the beauty that is all around you in Central Florida. It's not my cup of tea for a place to live, but visiting is always nice.
We drove on both of our trips. They were planned well in advance of the gas hikes and we decided we would still be slightly ahead going by car. The trip across the southern states on I-10 was a grim reminder of the tragedy of Katrina. It appears that some progress is being made but I can't imagine a full healing of the affected area for years to come. I'm just praying that they are not hit again this hurricane season and that the levees and dams will be in full repair the next time an act of God brings a storm. My gosh...where are all of these people that were displaced? How are they doing now? The answers we get in the media just don't seem to suffice for the scope of human difficulties that must remain. Let's not forget this wonderful part of our country.
We were home from Florida only 3 weeks when we got the call from my daughter in Colorado that her twins were going to be delivered within a day. We had promised her a month to help them get settled with the twins and put her on the path to healing and we delivered as promised. It was a wonderful month, full of activity. My most significant contribution, I think, was just to get meals to the table and be there for moral support. Bill felt a little out of his element, but hung in like a champ and really enjoyed being around these new little lives. Both of us were exhausted and ready for home by the end of our month. By the same token, it was really hard to leave these grandparent duties and feelings behind for now. I'm having trouble posting the babies' pictures within the blog, so will post them independently...just can't resist!
Coming home brought new challenges...especially outside. The garden was so overgrown that I was surprised we didn't have a letter in our mailbox from the community association. It was time to change the filters on everthing in the house and two days into our return the compressor went out on our air conditioning and we had to have it replaced. In a record setting month for heat (24 days over 100 and an average temp of 100.7 overall), this is not a laughing matter. We got great service though and put the matter to rest in a day. So...we called our yard service and got some help with the yard, which is now mulched, trimmed, fertilized, fungus free and replanted for fall...more pictures to come...and went to work on the inside of the house to get ready for a visit from my son and his wife from Connecticut. Between all these obvious tasks we worked in doctor's appointments, started physical therapy for arthritis issues both of us are having and tried to renew our commitment to getting down to the fitness center for swimming sessions in the afternoon hours. We're still working on the last one.
Our cat (even though she has a loving petsitter) was mad as a hatter because we had been gone so long. This lasted about 5 minutes though and she was back into our normal routine of petting, feeding, snuggling, etc. I noticed that freefeeding her during our absence had put a little weight on her, then checked my own thunderous thighs for the changes that being on the road can bring. I think I won. Shoot!
Priorities now include catching up on my responsibilities as coordinator for the adult activities group at our church, trying to finish my Texas Real Estate License course I ordered from UT Arlington online educational services at the beginning of the summer, getting my blogs back on track from a long absence and trying to keep my health up to par. I am hoping to add at least one class from the Senior University at Texas Southwestern University here in Georgetown this winter.
The older daughter of my three often poses the question to me.."What are you doing Mom?" Her tone is one of disbelief that I am busy after retirement. I guess the answer is that I can't imagine what was getting missed when I was working because I am very satisfied just living life and having the freedom to choose what I do. That includes working again if I want to. For now, retirement is A OK. I feel blessed.
Next week our adult activities at church kick off with a luncheon at Southwestern, then we are off to Mo Ranch in Hunt, Texas near Kerrville mid-month for an annual all-church retreat. The fun begins!
See you again soon.
God bless and keep you till then.
Paula
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