lifestyle

Winter In the Bubble: The Villages

Backstory

After 25 years in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, we are wondering whether to spend retirement somewhere else. We’ve been weighing pros and cons, like these.

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Winter In the Bubble – #656

We lived in a bubble in the winter of 2018. We spent the coldest, snowiest months of the year at The Villages, a huge community for active adults over 55. The winding streets have beautiful landscaping, flowers bloom all year long, there is nightly dancing to live music, dozens of golf courses, a polo field, eleven country clubs and recreation galore.

It is Florida’s magic kingdom for mature adults.

A 50 page newspaper lists hundreds of events each week by different interest groups. You can go to the card game, the lecture, the swimming pool, the pickle ball court or the talent show.

But it is indeed a bubble. What’s missing? The sound of children playing in the streets, neighbors with hair that is not gray or white, anything messy.

The Villages is pristine and perfect. Over 100,000 retirees call it home. Every resident you meet sings its praises.

Critics say it is too sheltered from the outside world and lacks diversity. Residents feel they have earned this perfection in retirement and they make no apologies for their lifestyle. They volunteer, donate, support churches and tend to local underprivileged kids.

We have to decide whether we’d like to live there someday.

P.S.

What things would you take into consideration when deciding where to spend your retirement? Scroll down and share in COMMENTS. Thanks.

[Show #656]

Balancing Mind and Body

Backstory

Decisions, decisions. Many of our friends seem to be facing a fork in the road. They are furiously weighing pros and cons as they try to decide – what next. In sympathy, this story was written.

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Balancing Mind and Body – #710

As we move along in life, there are changes to accept. They require a balancing of the images of the mind, with the desires and realities of the body.

The mind can image our standing atop the highest mountain; the knees may not support the climb. The mind may create passionate and romantic interludes; the body may want to take a nap.

A good part of the enjoyment of life in all its stages Is a balance between mind and body. Your vitality probably just needs a little moderation. The hike upward; only with rest stops. But oh the glory of the flag whipping in the wind once you get to the top!

Whether you’ll conquer your mountain in the clouds . . . on the Internet . . . in the kitchen or in the check book, balance mind and body and go for it!

P.S.

As you age, the balance of your life needs to include time to provide support – for friends and relatives who get injured or sick, or for yourself or your spouse. Leave room to be there when someone needs you. It’s not if, it’s when.

[Show #710]

Air Conditioning… Remember When

Backstory

Many modern conveniences are taken for granted. But there are those of us who grew up without them, or before they were invented.

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Air Conditioning – #433

Say its summertime. You have the choice of being outside in the sun, hot and heavy, or inside in the cool comfort of an air-conditioned domicile. Which one do you choose?

I remember a time not long ago when that choice did not exist. It would be as hot in the house as it was outside. My grandmother had her summer routine down pat. When to open the door and windows, when to pull the shades and drapes, when to turn on the big fan that did little more than moving around the hot air. When to hurry and get the days work done while the heat was still bearable, when to sit as still as possible with a big cloth for wiping the sweat.

City kids remember how they’d open the fire hydrant, and everyone would get wet to cool down. In recent power outages we’ve been reminded of how that felt. Young people may never before have had to go days in intense heat with no cooling.

How did you and your family handle it? Did you cry and whine, cursing the power company to hurry up and get us back to normal? Did you give prayers of thanks for all the days when we do not have to go without the cooling comfort of our conditioned air? Did you just ride around in your air-conditioned vehicle until it was all over?

Air conditioning in hot weather, yet another thing for which to give thanks here in America.

P.S.

Remember going to the movies often, because the theater was the only place in town that had air conditioning?

[Show #433]

Wise Moms

Edited and updated May 12, 2019.

Backstory

This week’s musings are about your mother and the place you held in her heart. It’s all in how you look at it. This may present some new perspectives.

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Wise Moms – #499

There is a time in life when your mom is not so smart. It’s the age when you know much more than she does. She is so out of it; and you are so cool . . . except for that one time that she was right. Or was it two times . . . or maybe three.

Then the years fly by and your mom somehow gets magically wiser. As you progress to the stage of a young mother yourself, you understand for the first time what your mom was all about. So she wasn’t trying to stifle you . . . she wanted to protect you. She didn’t want to make your life a living hell . . . she just wanted your room cleaned.

And know that when she is no longer here on earth with you, your mom will still linger – in your heart, your words and deeds. You’ll find yourself saying something she said . . . or voicing the exact same cautions that she did. You’ll cry at the same kind of movie. Memories of what you shared will make you smile – or laugh out loud.

You see, a mother isn’t just on hand until you’re 18, or until you’re through college or until you marry. A mother is forever. Treasure yours while she is here and remember her when she’s gone, for she is never far away. Her love and her teachings still guide you.

When you need her, you’ll feel her essence, her warmth, her glow. You don’t have to be able to see her. You can feel her in your soul.

Thanks to all the mothers remembered with love.

P.S.

We like to repeat this show at this time of year, as a reminder of the role mothers play, forever.

[Show #499]

Hodgepodge of Stamps

(Edited 3-10-19)

Backstory

Learn something new every day. It’s advice I try to follow. Sometimes it leads to unexpected or colorful new knowledge. That’s what happened here. A discovery led me to explore something I would normally take for granted. My curious nature always “wants to know the story.” This time it led me to stamps.

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Hodgepodge of Stamps – #192

When an elderly relative passed on, I was helping sort through her belongings. Someone gave me a box of stamps to inventory.

There was a treasure of stamps worth 15 cents and 23 cents and 10 cents . . . a nickel . . . even 1 cent. There were dozens of different designs and colors, each a miniature masterpiece of graphic art.

Some stamps had no denomination on them. The United States Post Office website has a place that shows how to determine their value.

That led me to the new FOREVER stamps. You purchase them at the going rate and they retain their value, even if mail rates go up in the future.

I also found that you can have customized stamps created, bearing your own image or message. How cool is that?

I asked who from the family wanted the box of lick-able old stamps. After all, they have a monetary value. But no one wanted to play with small denomination stamps that were not self-sticking. They invited me to keep them.

Well friends and relatives have been fascinated receiving my correspondence and cards with as many as ten different stamps on the envelope. I let them decide for themselves why the conglomeration. It sure has become a conversation piece.

P.S.

The U.S. Postal Service will release new stamps this year in honor of military working dogs. Four designs feature a German shepherd, Labrador retriever, Belgian Malinois and Dutch shepherd. The illustrations are in red, white, blue and gold to represent the American flag and patriotism. Also later this year, watch for stamps featuring a painting of tennis champion Maureen Connolly Brinker, designs from artist Ellsworth Kelly and engines from the Transcontinental Railroad,

[Show #192]

Cabin Fever

(Edited 3-3-19)

Backstory

Today’s story could refer to January of this year and the Polar Vortex. The Northeast became a dangerous frozen tundra. Morbid cold demanded staying indoors, often for days. Particularly challenging if the kids were cooped up too.

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Cabin Fever – #534

Remember back to the really harsh winter? If you were anywhere in the Northeast, you had snow, snow and more snow, And extended cold like you had not experienced in decades. First it was pretty, then dangerous, then annoying, then downright nasty.

It was hard to get anywhere. You did best to stay indoors and not cause problems for yourself and others by being out on the roads.

Schools were closed, offices were locked up, retailers were shuttered, grocery stores were out of milk, bread, beer and TP.

And the big result, at one time or another, was CABIN FEVER! Think back to how you dealt with it, and let me know. We’ll do a show about beating cabin fever, so you’ll have the tools, when the next nasty winter rolls along.

One option for a lucky few was to jump on a plane and fly to a warm spot.

Folks with a winter home in Florida got plenty of company during that winter, and were no doubt delighted to provide a temporary escape for friends and family from up north.

But most people had to tough it out, right there at home, shoveling driveways, contending with slow-downs and fighting cabin fever.

So remember, share how YOU addressed cabin fever that winter. How did you keep spirits up and bodies entertained. And listen in for a report before the blustery beast hits again this year.

P.S.

Friends and relatives in New Jersey had experiences that probably helped them avoid cabin fever last January. They made it through weeks without power in the storm known as Sandy. That was in October 2012.

[Show #534]

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