Nothing remains quite the same. Jimmy Buffet was right. Life is full of changes.

Some are predictable: children moving away from home, getting married and the empty nest that ensues. Others, not so much.

We never saw this coming.

Two years ago, my hub’s company was presented with an opportunity for their commercial demolition business to expand into Florida.

Let me put it this way: You don’t say “no” to The Mouse.

Within a couple of months, he had an office in central Florida, and in less than two years, we have a house 20 minutes from Cinderella’s Castle, and he has work all over the state. We watched Frozen. Just the two of us-so that he could wrap his head around their first project at Epcot.

Big life changes that were not even on our radar.

Living between two states means almost weekly travel back and forth between our rural farm and the most popular travel destination in the world.

The whole world.

The Publix and Target that are closest to our house is like the United Nations. Picture scores of foreigners trying to figure out traffic patterns, unfamiliar groceries and currency exchanges. Every language can be heard as I stroll through the aisles looking for Pawley’s Island Pimento Cheese and Blue Bell Butter Pecan ice cream. I don’t have the heart to tell the British lady who came to Target in her sheer cover up, over her string bikini to buy wine (at Target!) that she is woefully underdressed.

It’s only 64 degrees outside.

As opposed to the native Floridian’s who started wearing long sleeves and vests right after Labor Day when it was still 94 degrees. And they break out the Uggs if it gets close to 50.

Which brings me to: I AM IN THE SOUTH AGAIN!!! Thank you, Jesus. I still don’t know how all this happened so fast, but HE works in mysterious ways.

Hallelujah!

My southern accent is right at home here. No one asks where I am from “originally”. I can end all the sentences I want with a preposition. We have the sweetest neighbors, who look out for our house while we are gone. Without us even asking.

I could list scores of reasons this makes me soooo happy, (more blogs to follow on this account) but for now suffice to say, however we got here, I am deeply thankful.

I love to take long walks around our area, called Celebration. There are miles of wooden walkways through palm forests with a plethora of wildlife that we don’t see in Maryland.

I’m learning how to be on the lookout for these guys, and to remember if I get chased by a gator to run zigzag . I don’t go pulling up weeds in the yard down here, even though it is one of my favorite spring/summer things to do on the farm. I take to heart the warnings on the evening news that with the heat coming earlier than normal the snakes are becoming more active.

Some of our lifelong friends are making the move (gradually) to our area and that makes it feel even more like home.

Well, our half home. We definitely live double lives, which has its own challenges. We still care for my hub’s elderly mom on the weekends and with the arrival of our dear granddaughter, we don’t want to be gone too long lest we miss her growing and changing.

So, we are learning to be flexible-which is a good thing as we navigate these middle years of change and uncertainty.

Especially when The Mouse calls.

Blessings,

Stephanie