The Long Overdue Update

June 1 — August 22, 2025 | Waterside RV Resort | Sebring, Florida

Yes, it’s been a while since we shared a post, and this is a longer one in three parts.

Intermission

We’ve been stationary at our lot in Sebring and will remain there for the rest of the year to stay close to Marsha’s mom. It is our intermission for now – pushing pause on the camping adventures in favor of giving more support to mother. In retrospect, the timing of our retirement seems fortuitous. Through our working years in Sebring, mother was fairly self-sufficient and able to do everything for herself. Since her fall in November 2024, things have declined to where she now needs our help to drive her to appointments, grocery shop, and spend more time with her playing cards, board games, and putting puzzles together. She’s still playing cards and mahjong twice a week with her friends, attending church, and going to bible study and fellowship group.

In another week, mother is evaluated for a pacemaker, and we’ll see where that takes us. She’s expressed an interest in a beach trip in December to celebrate her 95^th birthday. Here’s hoping she’s well enough for us to make that happen.

Heartbreak

On July 21, we lost Olivia and Sophia to heatstroke. It was our tragic mistake, and we have been grief-stricken ever since. It was a normal day – get up, turn off the air conditioner, open the window shade, unzip the dogs’ kennel and greet them, walk and feed them, make coffee, and snuggle on the sofa. We were to take Marsha’s mom for a doctor’s appointment that morning so our snuggle time was cut short, and we rushed a bit to gather the laundry, get the dogs back into their kennel, and head on our way.

We left without turning the air conditioner back on. We did not realize this until we were almost back home 5 hours later. We tried to revive them, calling the vet, and then racing to the animal hospital. It was too late.

How could we have forgotten to turn the air conditioner back on? HOW! This single mistake has wrecked our hearts with unbelievable grief and anguish. We loved those little girls with all our being and cannot imagine our adventures without them. Our arms ache to cuddle them, feel their kisses, see their adoring eyes, rub their fuzzy bellies, and heed their pesky barks for attention and food. We will remember them always and plan to spread their ashes alongside Molly, Happy, and Gabby at Bear Mountain State Park in New York when we head that way.

Colorado Connection

We had planned a five-week camping adventure to Colorado the month of August in large part to celebrate our friends’ 60^th birthdays, to connect with other friends and colleagues along the way, and visit with our niece and her family. Most of those plans were scrapped since we couldn’t stay away that long from mother. Instead, we flew to Denver for a long weekend to attend the birthday celebration and catch up with a couple friends in the area.

This trip was medicine for our souls. We visited the Garden of the Gods accompanied by John Denver songs and the Travel Storys app, and we took a long pause at the Balanced Rock. It was a wonderful reminder of our intention in retirement – to embrace fluctuations and find rhythms of balance, the Yin and the Yang of the universe.

The birthday celebration was modified due to an unexpected medical procedure for one of the hosts. Instead, we visited with them all by ourselves in their wonderful “tree” house surrounded by the mountains, hummingbirds, and crisp rain. We had adapted a song Cheryl wrote for Marsha’s 60^th birthday a few years ago to share with our friends, and we gave them a framed original of the score to commemorate their birthdays.

We connected with two other colleagues of Cheryl’s and a couple we’ve known for more than 25 years. We attempted to revisit Saint Mary’s Glacier, where we hiked some 25 years ago. Alas, it has become a tourist trap, and we opted not to retrace our steps. Even so, Colorado is beautiful and a welcomed change to the heat and flat terrain of Florida.

P.S.

Despite the twists and turns along our journey these past few months, we are still on the path to maintaining balance and embracing whatever comes, whether planned or unplanned, thanks to the people in our lives who hold us close and remind us we are loved. In the words of a John Denver song, “Friends, I will remember you, think of you, pray for you. And when another day is through, I’ll still be friends with you.”