What’s it like in Florida? you may ask. How’s it different than California? Have I made a few new friends? Is it nice being around my grandkids (of course)? How do I like the weather?

Yes, there are many questions. In this blog this week I will attempt to answer the questions I think you may want to ask. Now that I’m getting in the rhythm of Florida, I am able to answer the questions more astutely. First, I am getting used to the weather changes. In a day the weather changes quite a bit more than I was used to in California. It’s still hot for the most part. But there is often a rain sometime during the day. The thermostat is kept on cool (where in Chico I had it off most of the time). There is more moisture in the air over here. LaVonne says I will be changing it to warm pretty soon.

I like to work outside in the morning, as I did in Chico. The morning is nice for outside work. It is a little warm in the afternoon. I spent quite a bit of time setting up my house. It took some ingenuity but I got it done. Thankfully, my stroke hasn’t left me with any significant changes, so I am able to get most things done on my own, and that is a blessing! Getting my buffet set up meant a good deal to me. Once it was in place I could get to work in other areas. It’s feeling more like my place every day.

LaVonne has her children take turns coming over; one per day. They come for about 15 minutes. Each one has a specific afternoon they come over. Today my granddaughter, Hannah, was here. We looked at pictures of the kids from back when my mother was alive and they lived in Colorado. Those were fun days. I’d go to Colorado for visits and to be of service to them. It amazes me how fast the time changes.

I eat one meal a week with LaVonne’s family. She always surprises me. She is quite a cook! Her meals are quite different than mine. She makes something unusual every time. They’re delicious, nutritious, and spectacular. I never know what she will make that is different. It is really and truly delectable!

Best of all, though, is the time we spend together. They are willing, able, and considerate. When the kids come over, the first thing they say, all of them, is how can I help you? And they mean it too. I am not used to having help…and it has taken me awhile to come up with things. But they’re willing and I appreciate it. Shane is also a super guy. He makes their family complete. It is wonderful to see such wisdom and grace in a father.

Now, about you. You have grandchildren, children, friends, and acquaintances. Make your day count by doing things to please them. It may be big or it may be small. You are communicating I care to them. We don’t have to do much either. It’s the thought that truly counts. And, if you really want to, you can write me back in the comments section.

I want to say I am sorry my blog took so long. We were without electricity for quite some time. We are back in business now and I am grateful. Today we worked on a broken tree (it knocked down parts of three fences) and a leaning palm tree. Almost done! I’ll write more next time.

I think I need to get back into my routine… Oh yes, I need to do my old things the old way I used to do them. But. But there’s a new way to do them as well.

A little refresher to get things up to speed.

I spent a month packing my things before moving to Florida. That meant I went through everything (almost). I’m a writer, with that in mind I keep anything and everything that catches my eye. I kept a tall metal bookshelf where I put ideas that I could use or that caught my interest including stories from way back. I slowly went through the stack to sort out what I wanted to keep and just to read the articles. That sort of things takes awhile. My sister came to my house and helped pack, and my son helped pack, and people stopped by to talk. It took over a month.

When we were done packing into one pod, we watched it leave my house. Then we were on to the next adventure. It was both hard and good at the same time. Hard to say goodbye to the house I loved so much. Hard to say goodbye to the people I loved so much. Hard to say goodbye to almost all I knew. However, I was ready to say goodbye. I was ready for the next adventure.

Next, we drove for five days. I wanted to go this way. It was all of interest to me. We ate at Chico’s In-N-Out and then the three of us, Marilyn, Josh, and I, headed south. Once we reached Bakersfield we headed east. We saw many interesting things on our journey east to Florida. It was quite an adventure. Josh did all the driving.

I had my work to do after we arrived in Florida. It started off slow while we waited for the pod to arrive. I enjoyed all of it. Marilyn left. Josh lives here in Florida now, so he was a gracious, willing, and a super help to me.

Unpacking became my next project.

Now, I am enjoying my new-to-me home. I love being close to my daughter, SIL, and seven grandkids. The kids come over, one each day, and I’m enjoying my role as grandmother. Also I am getting used to Florida. I do miss Chico. That’s to be expected. Of course, I miss my best friends, my church, my California relatives, and my former home. I’m learning to use my phone to make contact…I had basically stopped using it when I found it so difficult to talk. Yet, I’m learning to go with the flow. In fact, I like all of it!

It just goes to show that what matters most, above everything else, is that you can be what you want to be, love what you choose to love, bring happiness to those you want to share life with, and help those who need and want it. These past 3+ years I have learned a lot about coming up from a place of silence (from my stroke) to becoming more involved, more like I used to be, and much more intentional. It has not been easy…but it’s been good.

I’ve learned a few things I am thankful for…

• 1) to listen better
• 2) to be more supportive
• 3) to notice the positive actions of others
• 4) to try harder
• 5) to let discouragement go
• 6) to encourage others whenever I can

I am thankful that God still walks and talks with me. God makes the day better. God is my help. God cares. I am saying this to help you, others, and myself. It is all about God. He makes life better. If you are discouraged, look up to God. He will help you. He keeps you. He is everything. You may be discouraged. You may have hard troubles coming at you. You may feel God cannot help you. I must say, you need to keep on. Cry out to God. He will help you. Although, there is one thing I think I should tell you: God waits for you to be ready. Stop. Wait. Listen. Tell Him about it. Trust Him. He will come. He will nurture you. He is the answer to your prayers.

Well, I’m going through my things; completely going through my things. I’m not kidding. I’m slowly going through my books, pictures, things and what not. You realize that you have way more than you thought you had and way more than you can use. Today I spent the hours going through my pictures. I have a lot of pictures from the years when my children were young. So, it was fun too. Aw, the memories!

We lived in Westwood in the mountains for four years. I loved looking at those pictures. Forrest was born while we lived up there. We made some good friends in Westwood. Next we moved back to the Chido area. We lived at Meridian Road in Chico for a few years. Once again, my youngest child was born while we lived there (I have five kids). We had some precious times while living there. We went to Southern Calif. to visit Grandma Weigold while we lived southwest of town. In fact, there was some debate about her next steps, whether she would come to Chico. But she stayed in southern Calif.

Then we moved to the house on Nord Hwy, where my folks had the orchard. I was already farming the orchard, so it worked out for us. We farmed the orchard for 20 years. Dad made it profitable for me so that I could help my kids with their college education at Biola. The orchard was good for us. He was so wise. After we moved to Nord Hwy, I moved where I am now in Chico, CA.

I live alone now. Yet, my youngest daughter and her husband come around. They are wonderful in helping out when I need it and looking after me, besides being friendly and jovial. I can’t complain at all about any of my kids. I am so fortunate. They care about me, and that’s something to be thankful for. There’s something wonderful to say about looking at the pictures. God has been good to me, to all of us.

I used to feel bad about the hard things in my life, the things I’m not talking about right now. You know what, God had a reason for it all. He took care of all of us, even my ex. He always takes care of his children. He wanted to teach me some things that I needed to learn. I learned how to wait, to listen, to contemplate, to consider, to remember his goodness, to rejoice in his care, to be thankful for even the smallest act of kindness…and recognize he is taking care of me.

I think of all the prayers I prayed. All the troubles I navigated. And all the answers to prayer. It got to where I learned to pray before I acted about most things. God became my rudder. I acted according to how I felt about the answers to my prayers. I reviewed, I considered, I waited, I believed, I set my heart and my mind in God’s direction. I learned it is unwise to act without praying first. God brings peace when the answer is affirmative. I learned to wait until I sense his leading. I learned to listen for his answers. He taught me to wait until He was ready to act. I also learned it is best to not act if you sense something is wrong in your actions. He will make it abundantly clear if you wait and listen. Sometimes you have to wait a while before he gives you an answer. It’s worth the wait.

God bless you.