Living in Florida

When we spend a week more or less in Florida, I think about what it would be like to live here longer in the winter.  In just a few days, Jim's dry and cracked skin on his hands has healed.  He recovered from his nasty cold very quickly.  It is easy to get 10,000 steps a day--or more--and I have gone far beyond my goal of 30 minutes of exercise a day.  We decided to try to get along without a rental car and we have done so.  We reveled in the warm air and sunshine of our first three days here--although yesterday was rainy, windy and cold.  Today is sunny but still cold.

So why not live here for the winter months?  Would we get bored?  Would we get lonely?  Would we be satisfied with just each other's company?

If I pray for "oblation," the opportunity to serve others, how would I do so?  At home, I can do my volunteer things at the library, church, and tutoring.  I don't always feel like doing them, but it is important to use any skills I have and the time I definitely have to help others out.

For Jim, he needs his library and his resources to write and now, for this spring, he will teach a seminar at Notre Dame.  So for him, this has to be a brief respite.

Last year our Florida trip was five days; this year it is nine days.  Next year, maybe two weeks?  Or a month?  But I do not foresee our being "snowbirds" and spending months here as pleasant as it is when I think of the snow and ice in South Bend.

And when and if we do need to scale down and go into "retirement living," I want it to be near our children and grandchildren.  So there will be no major changes for now and I will try to enjoy each day here as it comes.