#SoCS – Jan 20/17

Wow! What a week for a stream of consciousness post. What has overtaken my mind at this point is the fact that I’m in southwest Florida, on an island off the coast of Ft. Myers and it’s warm, dry, and beautiful! It’s January! I love the ocean and since we arrived, the weather has been tranquil and the ocean like glass. Actually, we’ve been here five times before at this time of year, but not for a couple of years. I’m so thrilled to be here again I can hardly think of anything else. I’m really enjoying it. We’re taking a side trip to the Everglades tomorrow, one of my favorite places. Primarily so I can see the wildlife…..then rant about how we’re killing our environment.

There are other things on my mind. When we got to our favorite place in the world here in Florida, we found that two of our friends had passed away since we were here last. One quite suddenly and at a young age. He and his wife came here from North Dakota every year for six months and were good friends. The other an older gentleman  that also spent the season here. He was an interesting story. He had two German Shepherds, trained only using German commands. They were the most intricately trained, and well trained, dogs I’ve ever known. It haunts me wondering what happened to the dogs as Hans was single, to my knowledge. I don’t know if he had any family or not.

The other thing on my mind is my desire to move to Florida. There are so many reasons to move, but there are a few reasons not to move. I’m having a mental battle between pros and cons. One concern is the fact I will have to spend a lot of the hot times indoors. That is due to a health condition. My particular health condition does not allow me to tolerate very high heat for very long at a time. However, there are positives about moving regarding that same health condition. This specific downside is the only downside to moving here, but it is a significant downside. Before I make a final decision, I have to talk to my doctor although I’ve been told not to worry about this side effect. We will see a realtor here in Florida several times while we are here. We aren’t yet picking out a house as our house where we currently live has to be sold first. We are picking out the community in which we want to live.

Last, I guess I’m a little worried about my dog, Betsy. She is doing well on this trip, but she is sleeping a lot. She had a seizure about three weeks ago, so I am watchful. Signing off for this week!