When I was young, maybe 6 or 7, I remember driving to Florida, sitting in the way back of a Ford station wagon, (no seatbelts or even concerns back then .. just a pillow and blanket.) We left West Hartford early in the morning to get by NYC before the traffic began. It was a race.

Fast forward 54 years and I still do that run. It’s still a race, except now you have bottle necks in 5 other states. Flying beats driving anytime.

As someone who understands the inevitabilities, and tries to tell as many young people as he can, that you will bend, compromise, be happy, be sad and “sell your soul to the highest bidder multiple times by the time you are 40” … and then, maybe, … just maybe, you will get “acceptance” that this is your life and you better get on with it. “Because that life train never stops” and you almost never get off of it unless there is a very good reason or a really bad reason.

The earlier you get “acceptance”, and that life is short and deserves to be lived well, the earlier and easier your life becomes.

Enough preaching. We now have Stone Creek, Ocala FL. We made it to Camp.

This is our 5th attempt at winters in Florida. Shelley has found acceptance, she is really good at going to Camp.

Her house, her rules, her room, her furniture, her pickleball paddles, more sneakers, ping pong paddle, her bikes, billiards glove, private SC library, walking circuit, biking circles etc etc .. Happy Girl

We tried south FL, nope, then central FL, older place renovated, nope, then a new subdivision renting newer homes nope, then Fernandina Beach, nice but chilly, nope … Then back to Ocala … Stone Creek, small cul-de-sac, key location though. We said yes, it worked great … one small problem – we do not fit in the house. Too small.

For now, the benefits out weigh the negatives – we have been eying a “used house” on the field.

We’ll See.