Last Tuesday brought the third anniversary of the closing on the purchase of my log home in rural Florida. So much has changed since I landed in this place that a friend once described as being in the middle of the middle of nowhere. Some days it does seem that way, but there is something special about living in what some call the last frontier of unspoiled Old Florida.

A spontaneous move after a period of restlessness propelled me here on a warm August day in 2023. My mother, then in her mid-90s, had returned north to a cooler Upstate New York after living near me in an Assisted Living facility in Georgia. My dad had passed and she wanted to be closer to her northern roots. I remember the day I returned home after escorting my mom to New York to settle her in her new facility. Filled with the overwhelming realization that I could do anything I wanted, or go wherever I needed to be, deliverd a profound moment of clarity. There was nothing holding me in place anymore.

There had been alot of loss. I’d been widowed in late 2021 and immediately after took on the care of two aging parents. In 2022, I also lost my oldest nephew, Zac, the only son of my sister who’d passed in 2018. Zac was like the son I never had. My father and mother passed in 2023 and 2024 respectively. They are missed every day.

With three major consecutive losses after Rich’s passing, there really had been no time to process the loss of my husband, and in my mother’s departure in the Spring of 2023, I was more than ready to get away. That can take many forms. What started out with just wanting a small vacation cottage farther south brought me to a new more permanent living situation here in this rural region. 

There’s been alot of adapting. This life isn’t like any I’ve known before, but I’ve come to love the quiet mornings filled with the sounds of roosters, owls, peacocks, wild turkeys and an occasional eagle and the quirky rythym of life here. With each gorgeous sunset out front, I know I’m in a good place and try to appreciate that with each day. 

Yesterday, another Facebook memory reminded me that two years ago we drove by a small canal front home not far from here. The realtor had just planted the “For Sale” sign and I ended up being the buyer soon after. It needed alot of TLC which has been provided by my partner, the hardworking, multi-talented and patient David. Now completely transformed, that place has some very appreciative tenants. I hadn’t realized that these two home buying adventures had occured just a year apart and it has been literally part of me building a new future and a path forward. 

I know I’m fortunate to have these opportunities, and I often remind myself to slow down and give myself credit for accomplishing so much during a very difficult time. I couldn’t do it with some very special people, and dogs in my life, however.

Which brings me to my maltipoo Quint. Born in California, he entered my life seven weeks after Rich passed. My first step forward was flying solo to pick him up. Visually impaired, he was one of a litter born to a dog who’d been found wandering the streets just before giving birth. I was connected to Quint by Joy Manley of R & R Sanctuary. Located in Wisconsin, she and her nationwide rescue network help find dogs-in-need good homes across the country. Quint was by my side when I first stepped on the log home property.

Last week was Joy’s birthday and Quint wants to make a donation to her rescue as a way of paying forward. Each day we put away some change and it adds up. At the end of the month we make a donation, in addition to our dedicated monthly donation to Soaring Spirits, International. We call it Small Change for The Good! Happy Birthday Joy and thanks for all you do! Small steps taken are often the key to getting on the path to lasting solutions.

I want to end this post with a special tribute to those who lost lives, during the events of 9-11 and their family and friends. Twenty-five years have gone by but for many of us it feels like yesterday. I lived in New Jersey at the time. Our community lost several individuals that day and a local sculptor created Angel in Anquish that stands in a park just a few miles from our former home.

Wishing everyone a peaceful and productive weekend in mid-September.