We are going into our 6th year of living full time in a motorhome. It has been and continues to be a wonderful adventure with its twists and turns to keep life exciting. God has been our navigator all along and we trust the directions He maps out for us. Lately I've been feeling a nudge from "above" to start thinking about putting down roots somewhere. For the last year or so that has been the topic of many of our discussions. Where to settle or at least where to stop and rest for a while? We've explored the south with a winter in Austin. Friends opened their home to us in the beautiful rocky mountains, where my sister also lives and we considered that as a possibility. Other dear friends suggested a return to the Quad Cities. But one element was missing in each of these locations: grandchildren!
We have five, soon to be eight, grandchildren. Each one of them is so precious to us and we wish they all lived in one town. Then there would never be a question about where to settle because we'd be where they were!! Unfortunately that will never happen. Two of our three children have careers in the armed services which means they will continue to relocate for 6-8 more years. We will, of course, follow them around either in our RV or in a plane where ever they go and spend time with them and their children. But we can't put down roots with either one of them now since those roots would be uprooted way too often and at our age the "plants" might whither and wrinkle more than they already have wrinkled. Ha!
We do have one child, Branden, who is settled, in fact starting a new career in a week. He and his family are not planning to move. They like where they live and plan to raise their children, our grandchildren, in one spot through high school. Their location?-Indianapolis, Indiana. OK. I'm going to hear from those friends who know me that there is snow there-remember? Midwest weather is not perfect. I know, but weather has become less of a factor and being near family more important.
The Lord has directed us to a 55+ community just 15 minutes from where Branden and Brooke live. It is an active adult community where the outside of the houses are maintained, features a club with a pool, fitness area, tennis courts, as well as a number of club offerings, including biking, tennis, ping pong, and Bible studies. Here is the website if you are interested:
http://www.delwebb.com/communities/in/fishers/britton-falls/11908/index1.aspx#.Udy0dhaA3zI
We are purchasing the
smallest model, since we will still keep our RV, which we will continue to use to visit the rest of the grandchildren and for travel and volunteer work. After all, I don't own anything to put in a house at the moment so I want as little space as possible to decorate. Ha!
We are excited about meeting new friends, establishing a church community, locating doctors, a dentist, hair stylist, etc-all those "staples" that one has in a home community.
We are also hoping that our friends will plan a visit to the Indianapolis area and come stay with us. Even though the house will be small it will definitely have a second bedroom!
The house won't be done until March of 2014, which is fine with us since we will be traveling until then anyway. We'll keep you updated on its progress and as of next spring the welcome mat will be in place!
