A letter to my family (grandkids)

this is a letter I wrote to my family in 2012. I almost deleted it, then decided it would fit on my blog, because my blog is a journal of the past several years.  So here goes!

Greetings Everyone,

What a treat to get your card and notes & “doodles” from everyone! My handwriting is getting worse the older I get, so typing just makes letter writing easier and more legible.

Obviously we are concerned about Mike’s back. How on earth did that occur? And, what are the options? In my opinion, back pain is one of the worst maladies.

We have been watching the weather in the north and it is very apparent that it has been a mild winter. The weather has been really nice in Florida this season. We have had a few days when it cooled down and a couple of nights of near freezing temperatures, but it is short lived and we have been experiencing most days in the high 70’s and low 80’s.

I have geranium, impatient, petunia, begonia and a few other Florida floral in bloom. We have very little rain in the winter season, so have to keep it watered.

We have only been to the beach once since we arrived in North Port. I guess we have just been too busy to take a day and go.

I know we mentioned it to you, but starting soon after we arrived last fall we took kitchen cupboard doors down; sanded, primed and repainted them. Took out the breakfast bar and replaced it with two new cupboard units (one tall and one counter height). Put down a Pergo laminate floor and installed a dishwasher. That was a project. I still have a bit of painting to do on two cupboard doors and the panels on the back side of the new cabinets. It is a much better and efficient kitchen.

Our cruise was very nice. It was not a special occasion, but a trip that we set up for some Nappanee friends that had never been cruising. As it turned out there were three more couples that went so we had a nice group of 10 who spent some time touring some of the islands during our port stops and sharing stories over our dinner in the evening.

I think my favorite place was a “private island” owned by the cruise line called Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas. The beach was so pristine with sand that was like talcum powder. They held a BBQ on shore for all of the passengers who tendered in from the ship. There were walking trails, little thatched roof open patios that you could sit in out of the sun – some thatched roof refreshment areas, equipment for snorkeling, sailing, etc. It was a really nice and enjoyable day that we spent there.

Mamaw and Papaw want to tell Kenna that we really liked her special valentine “hug” that she made in Little Seeds. I taped it up so we can see it every day. Thank you very much – you are very special! Of course Kenna, your drawings on the card were so fun to look at, too!

And Jacob – WOW – your writing is so good. Thank you so much for your note to us. And just seeing everyone’s signature – well it made our day! We love you all so much and we think of you every day and wonder what you might be doing.

As usual we stay busy and the days go by so fast. I try to spend as much time as I can with my friend, Mari, who lives across the street. Her Alzheimer disease is beginning to rob her of her short term memory and she has a great degree of difficulty speaking sentences. We play cards together, take walks, ride bicycles, swim at the pool, and go to lunch and shopping sometimes. She wants to help me do things like laundry, painting or cleaning the house because she thinks I’m too busy! These are things that she still can do well. I feel so blessed to have her in my life. Her smile is so infectious and so many people feel so drawn to her. It is hard to watch her loose her grip on life.

Take care our dear family. Again thank you for the card. Getting snail mail like that is comforting! Love you all very much!