Tag: mental-health

Posted on in Daily Life, Uncategorized

GIRL TIME

This has been a week that didn’t have much on the calendar. Monday mornings I am trying to go to Line Dancing Class (for beginners). It starts at 9:30, which really doesn’t matter. There is no good time for exercise to start, you just have to go do it. Here in Florida, it’s too hot to do too much outside, thank goodness this is in the Community Center where we live, indoors and air conditioned! I am not a girl that perspires, I sweat like a dog when I exercise. And I know line dancing is FUN but its exercise, so it isn’t really fun. I also have trouble with left and right, always have so when the class is going left it isn’t unusual that I am going right. Or we make a turn, and I am seeing everyone’s faces instead of the wall I am supposed to be staring at! It’s been that way all my life. When I took my driver’s test for my first license I wrote and L and R on my hands so I would go in the correct direction when instructed. He passed me so I guess it was ok!

One morning this week we got up and there was a fire truck out front. In a 55+ Community, fire trucks are normal, usually followed by an ambulance. People call for many emergency and semi-emergency situations. A lot of time people fall and can’t get up by themselves etc. I’m looking out the window to see who’s house they are going to, always need to know who needs help in one way or another. I can’t see much though because there is a man messing with the fire hydrant out front blocking my view. I’m getting most aggravated and then it dawns on me … no ambulance, this guy is testing the fire hydrants What a doofus! I am less embarrassed about looking out the window than I am about not knowing it was a fireman checking the hydrant! (AND I didn’t get my camera out fast enough to grab the picture!)

Friday the ladies of Banbury Village had their monthly luncheon, and they asked me to join them. I went last month and had such a nice time I was happy to go again. Last month I asked them if I could join them; just because I don’t live in that village doesn’t mean I can’t be a part of it. My quest is to meet new people and socialize for no reason, so these luncheons are a great place to start. I have never been much for doing Girl stuff, which is so snotty of me. Truth is, I have always worked, and I never made the time for it. And I do not think I have a lot in common with a lot of people so that doesn’t help. I don’t have kids or grandkids, I work and have always worked, I don’t like to shop or do crafts … see what I mean? I’m a snot. Truth is, I don’t really know how to visit with no purpose. I always went to work lunches, family stuff, church-based focus groups etc. Never really met with a group of people just to visit. That is hard for me. Silly as it is, I am not the least bit shy, I can walk into any room and do just fine, but having no reason to be there, what’s the point?

NOW I KNOW. I relax! What the heck? I don’t have to be ON. I can just be, well, ME. I can participate in a conversation or just listen and learn. (and YES I can listen dadgummit!) These ladies have a lot to teach too. We are all going through different phases or our lives, learning how to maneuver through it all. For some this luncheon forces them to get out of the house and away from it all for a couple hours. Others are looking for friendship and still others need guidance or suggestions. There were singles and widows, people who just moved in or people who need to move out, but together we talked and shared and laughed, maybe a few wet eyes too. I totally enjoyed meeting new people and hopefully making new friends as well.

I think I have been bamboozled by the stereotype of Girl Time and have missed out on a lot of fun. I still don’t like to shop or do crafts BUT I think maybe it isn’t really about what we are doing as much as who we are doing it with? Laughing at wrong directions and trying new things. I have got to learn to say yes more and no less. To learn that I might not have enjoyed things in my 30s that today I will love, for very different reasons. And mostly everyone is searching for something. We may as well find it together!

Thanks Banbury Ladies for a lovely lunch! I hope I can come again, and I’d love to come to your village lunch too if you will have me!

Posted on in Daily Life, Uncategorized

GIRL TIME

This has been a week that didn’t have much on the calendar. Monday mornings I am trying to go to Line Dancing Class (for beginners). It starts at 9:30, which really doesn’t matter. There is no good time for exercise to start, you just have to go do it. Here in Florida, it’s too hot to do too much outside, thank goodness this is in the Community Center where we live, indoors and air conditioned! I am not a girl that perspires, I sweat like a dog when I exercise. And I know line dancing is FUN but its exercise, so it isn’t really fun. I also have trouble with left and right, always have so when the class is going left it isn’t unusual that I am going right. Or we make a turn, and I am seeing everyone’s faces instead of the wall I am supposed to be staring at! It’s been that way all my life. When I took my driver’s test for my first license I wrote and L and R on my hands so I would go in the correct direction when instructed. He passed me so I guess it was ok!

One morning this week we got up and there was a fire truck out front. In a 55+ Community, fire trucks are normal, usually followed by an ambulance. People call for many emergency and semi-emergency situations. A lot of time people fall and can’t get up by themselves etc. I’m looking out the window to see who’s house they are going to, always need to know who needs help in one way or another. I can’t see much though because there is a man messing with the fire hydrant out front blocking my view. I’m getting most aggravated and then it dawns on me … no ambulance, this guy is testing the fire hydrants What a doofus! I am less embarrassed about looking out the window than I am about not knowing it was a fireman checking the hydrant! (AND I didn’t get my camera out fast enough to grab the picture!)

Friday the ladies of Banbury Village had their monthly luncheon, and they asked me to join them. I went last month and had such a nice time I was happy to go again. Last month I asked them if I could join them; just because I don’t live in that village doesn’t mean I can’t be a part of it. My quest is to meet new people and socialize for no reason, so these luncheons are a great place to start. I have never been much for doing Girl stuff, which is so snotty of me. Truth is, I have always worked, and I never made the time for it. And I do not think I have a lot in common with a lot of people so that doesn’t help. I don’t have kids or grandkids, I work and have always worked, I don’t like to shop or do crafts … see what I mean? I’m a snot. Truth is, I don’t really know how to visit with no purpose. I always went to work lunches, family stuff, church-based focus groups etc. Never really met with a group of people just to visit. That is hard for me. Silly as it is, I am not the least bit shy, I can walk into any room and do just fine, but having no reason to be there, what’s the point?

NOW I KNOW. I relax! What the heck? I don’t have to be ON. I can just be, well, ME. I can participate in a conversation or just listen and learn. (and YES I can listen dadgummit!) These ladies have a lot to teach too. We are all going through different phases or our lives, learning how to maneuver through it all. For some this luncheon forces them to get out of the house and away from it all for a couple hours. Others are looking for friendship and still others need guidance or suggestions. There were singles and widows, people who just moved in or people who need to move out, but together we talked and shared and laughed, maybe a few wet eyes too. I totally enjoyed meeting new people and hopefully making new friends as well.

I think I have been bamboozled by the stereotype of Girl Time and have missed out on a lot of fun. I still don’t like to shop or do crafts BUT I think maybe it isn’t really about what we are doing as much as who we are doing it with? Laughing at wrong directions and trying new things. I have got to learn to say yes more and no less. To learn that I might not have enjoyed things in my 30s that today I will love, for very different reasons. And mostly everyone is searching for something. We may as well find it together!

Thanks Banbury Ladies for a lovely lunch! I hope I can come again, and I’d love to come to your village lunch too if you will have me!

Posted on in Uncategorized

WHY BLOG?

FAIR QUESTION! I probably should have had this be the FIRST blog I wrote but hindsight is 20/20 right?

This is me! not gussied up, no or little make up anyway, I think I have mascara on but that is all. If I am going to be real, you may as well see the good the bad and the ugly!

I used to write a blog years ago and life got too busy, and I think maybe I didn’t have much more to say so I stopped. I enjoyed it, sharing my thoughts “out loud” with others. I’m really not that complicated, I’m pretty predictable. I had developed a decent following and had good feedback from readers on the different posts I would write about, it was fun for me. Now it is 11-12 years later maybe, and my life is so different, we moved from Orlando to a 55+ community in Zellwood which I love. I retired from my full-time job of 28 years and am now a realtor, because I like to work and be with people.

People write blogs for lots of reasons, for me it is sort of a creative effort. I am not handy; I don’t do crafts because I have no talent for it. I admire other people’s work, but I am hopeless. When I write I enjoy the entire process. I try not to get into topics that are political or upsetting to others, I like to keep it positive and fun. I love feedback and ideas for future posts. I welcome that. And its ok if you tell me I am wrong; that is part of the process. I won’t try to change your opinion either! You can hit the subscribe button at the bottom and then you will automatically get my posts when I do a new one.

A lot of professionals use blogging as a way of marketing, and it is a great tool to do that. Most of them subscribe to a service within their industry so they can send relevant info on their markets. that way, they stay in touch with their clients on a weekly/monthly basis. Since I actually like to write my little, short stories, I am trying to accomplish the goal of my hobby, writing, and marketing at the same time. I prefer to write my stories about my life so people can get to know me instead of industry markets that change constantly. Also, most of my Real Estate Sales are in a niche market that only pertains to those people. So, it is wonderful for me to write about my community where I live and not real estate in general.

If I have learned anything these past few years, as people retire the adjustment is a journey. Some people embrace it and have a list of things they want to do and have a ball. Others flop around like a fish out of water trying to find their way. Having a passion or hobby helps; or at least a desire to find one. My personal experience is work. I don’t know how to not work. I have not found a “real” hobby like golf or pickleball that I love and must do. As I said, I’m not a crafter, I don’t cook and it’s FLORIDA, so a beautiful garden is not in my cards! It’s just too hot. I do like to walk, but once I do that in the morning I’m done for the day and there are still 16 hours to find something to do.

Our 55+ Community has tons of activities from classes to card games to golf. In writing this blog, I hope to try a lot of them to at least be doing stuff. I don’t expect to like them all, but I do hope to find a few I can enjoy that I didn’t expect to! Wouldn’t that be cool? And I also hope to make a few new friends along the way. I have it easier than some because I am not the least bit shy. I can walk into a room and just go, and I realize that is a gift. And I love hugs so feel free to hug me! And one more thing, I am not afraid to fail. I will try something I am pretty sure I won’t be good at, just for the experience. So, those of you that live on the golf course, watch out, I may be out there, my friend Fran does crafts, I will TRY once, I did pickleball a long time ago, I will try it again. Maybe I can be the MIKE ROWE of our 55+ Community! haha. If you are in charge of an event and want me to participate and write about it, let me know. I can’t promise I will say yes but I can promise I will listen and consider it.

Selling Real Estate is a great outlet for me because I love it. It is like a big puzzle to me, listening to what a buyer wants in their new home and then trying to match it up with what is available for sale or what I know might be coming up. When you find the perfect storm, and you see it in their eyes, THAT is the best feeling ever. Listing a home and presenting an offer that makes a seller happy, pure joy for me. I want to do a good job, I want to be someone people trust. Some of you will roll your eyes at me, and that is ok, but I KNOW that I do not do this all by myself. God uses me to fulfill His will, and I just go along for the ride. And this has been an amazing ride. I have been with my broker, Keller Williams for 7 years July 1, 2025. In those 7 years, I just found out I have closed 279 homes. (buyer or seller side), This is staggering to me, I never keep count, so I never know. I don’t compare myself to others because if I am working for God, none of the sales competition stuff matters. I just go where I am called and do what I feel is what I am being asked to do and let the rest fall where it may. So yes, I am very blessed. This little community where I live and work blesses me every single day and I do my best to bless it back!

Needless to say, I have times when I am super busy, and times when I have nothing to do. I find that I need to be social, to be with people. I gravitate to activities that are social and when I come home, I enjoy the peace that is home. I am learning more about this community as I go to activities I haven’t tried before, which also gives me ideas that help my sales experiences. It’s impossible for me to separate the two because I am either ALL IN or ALL OUT. I’m learning to not automatically turn my nose up at something. I had a dear friend once that told me to go to a movie alone, which I was not about to do. When I said I wouldn’t like that she asked if I had ever done it. hmmm no. So, she made me do it. and you know what? I love it. I’d rather go alone. Until I try an activity, I need to remember just because I don’t think I will like it, doesn’t mean I won’t. I didn’t like pea soup either, until I tried it. (but NEVER mushrooms!)

MY HOME

And this is my happy spot, my patio. I do like succulents and they seem to like me back!

I do enjoy sitting on the patio in the evening and listening to the birds and enjoying the quiet time. Golf carts traveling up and down the road, waving hello! Sharing a smile. Our little slice of heaven. Thank you God.