DOWNSIZING or RIGHTSIZING

Recently my husband and I decided to downsize from a 2300 square foot home  to a 1200 square foot gated community apartment home.  It was a huge decision and one we deliberated with care for quite some time. Our two sons, both grown with homes of their own, had been stopping by on Sundays to eat and/or swim at my request to keep the family close. Things started getting in the way, their wife's family functions, birthday parties, etc. Their frequency of Sunday visits slowly began to diminish to once a month, once every two months and soon we were contacting each other on FaceTime. Our decision was based on this as well as the empty nest syndrome that effects many when their children are grown and leave the nest.

We found ourselves in an empty house separated by walls and screaming from one side to the other to talk to each other. We didn't use half of the rooms that had always been filled with laughter and love throughout the years. We congregated on the family room with an open kitchen and the master bedroom. It became a burden to keep the entire house clean as well as all the outside maintenance with a salt pool and a large paved lanai.

To get to where we are today, we had to sort through everything, and I mean every nook and cranny in our house and packed only the necessities for the two of us along with a few holiday favorites. We had a moving sale and sold most of the furniture from the bedrooms, living room and extra baths, and lots of unused craft items. We gave the boys first dibs of course. We donated the rest to charity and were ready to move.

Instead  of a salt pool and a large screened in lanai that required daily maintenance, we now have a community pool which is maintenance free to us, a health club, valet trash (right at the front door), racquet ball courts, a dog park, (perfect for our little long-haired chihuahua, AJ), and a car wash. We have two bedrooms and two baths, a living/dining/kitchen combined, a screened-in patio and just the right size for the two of us.

We have just enough room for holiday dinners and special occasions but find we enjoy the majority of the time alone. We continue to stay in touch with the boys with visits to their homes or their infrequent visits to ours, and on occasion FaceTime.

Life is good and time is used much more efficiently for writing and scrapbooking instead of cleaning.

The Search book review and recommendation

Like many of you, I read vociferously and especially read Nora Roberts.  I have read most of her books and I'm currently reading The Search. It's about a woman who's expertise lies in training dogs to find cadavers and living victims. I admire how Nora 'lays' out the story from beginning to end, starting with something that may, at first, appear to be irrelevant to the book, such as in this book. It begins with a man and woman trying to get pregnant with their second child. A short time later they find their three year old boy missing and the kitchen door standing wide open. I could tell you lots more but don't want to spoil it for those of you who have not had the chance to read it yet.

I'm about half way through it and it has become a trilling page-turner for me. I find myself wondering about it while I'm doing my own writing. It's been a while since I have been this 'obsessed' with reading a good book. I can only hope the books I write are as tantalizing as this one.