By the time you read this Ruth and I will be heading to our new condo in Stanwood, Michigan. It’s part of the golf resort known as Tullymore. We relocated prior to heading south to The Villages last November. Everything is moved into the condo, but there is loads of unpacking to do. I’d estimate at least sixty boxes of assorted treasures, collected over forty-three years in our prior house, remain unopened. The only room in decent shape is the kitchen, and that’s because Ruth’s sister, Kathy, came down for a day to help set it up. Knowing Ruth, there’s still room for improvement.
Our lives have changed a bit since we arrived last Thanksgiving day. Our initial time in Florida was very low key. We spent most of our days as a couple. We got together with our friends, Julie and Gene, once a week to play golf and euchre. We played nine holes each week with our Lake LeAnn friend, Dave, and had dinner with our friend, Diane. That was our entire circle, but we were ecstatic to have them in our lives. For much of last summer it was just the two of us.
We received our Covid-19 vaccines on January 11 and February 1. The vaccine lifted our spirits and opened new opportunities, but we continued to proceed with caution. We took baby steps, and strove to remain coronavirus free so we could fly to California to meet our new grandson, Jackson James. His arrival is the highlight of our year, and we’ve had quite an adventurous one.
In the past eight months we bought a new pontoon, sold a house, bought a condo, and sold a Florida lot. We’ve exchanged a lot of money with a variety of people, much of it remotely, and we’re not done. We have additions to make as we settle into our new digs. Ruth will make most of the decisions, and I’ll add my two cents when the time comes. She’s got a keen eye on both design and budget, so I know I’m in good hands. We ordered four new chairs for the condo last October. Two just came in and will be delivered on May 1. The other two aren’t expected to arrive until the end of May. The world-wide pandemic as slowed things down everywhere. I don’t see an end in sight for several more months.
We’re looking forward to living in the condo. It’s a new life-style. I told Ruth for the first time in forty-four springs we won’t have to worry about cleaning the gutters, pulling leaves out of the shrubs, wondering if the roof or siding should be replaced, putting in the dock, cleaning the beach, rototilling the sand, launching boats, refreshing the mulch, trimming the trees, and on and on. Our focus will be on the inside, deciding where all of our thingamajigs and whatchamacallits should go.
We’ll miss our friends in the Jackson area, but plan to go back for visits and have them up to see our new digs. We’ll make new friends, and reach out to old ones who now live in northern Michigan. We’ll be closer to David’s family, so we hope to see them more regularly. We’ll develop plans to return to California sometime this summer to see our California kids and young Jackson James. Ruth has described our new adventure as being on permanent vacation, and I’m looking forward to it.