Shortly after she and my dad moved south (almost 30 years ago), my mom announced that, despite her having lived all her life in New Hampshire, Florida was now definitely her home and she would never even consider moving back to New England. Of course, the rest of our family remains in New England. However, with regular calls and in-person visits a few times a year we’re able to stay sufficiently close. The motorhome turns out to be a perfect tool for the job…
Mom lives in a wonderful senior community on the Space Coast. For this visit, we drove to Florida and dropped anchor at the nearby county campground in Melbourne for a 3-week stay. We were able to get together with my mom every day.
While we were there, Mom had an opportunity to move into a larger room with a better view. Her own, familiar furniture fit into the larger room, so we helped her move in, set things up and decorate a bit, making her new space more comfortable and homey. She was having trouble hearing her TV – although her new neighbors weren’t – so we set her up with some headphones. TV never sounded so good!
Next up was a list of errands and appointments. All supplies have been restocked – including chocolate almond ice cream in the freezer – and a few new items added to make her room more comfy still. Of course, a good visit can’t be all work and no play…
Lorraine 
Oscar
We had a chance to join in on some of Mom’s favorite activities. She loves the musicians who visit the community regularly. The Music Man (keys and vocals) put on a Hawaiian-themed show with lots of old familiar tunes to accompany a Hawaiian dinner. Lorraine played accordion while leading a sing-along of patriotic songs in honor of Memorial Day. And Oscar put a Latin spin on lots of old favorites while playing guitar. Who knows, maybe the Destinators will make an appearance one of these visits… On several days, we just enjoyed making puzzles around a big table.
Doug (with Jeanette’s brownies), Mom, Jeanette 
Sue, Jeanette, Mom with home-made ice cream
We hatched up a plan for a picnic. My mom’s old (way back from high school days), old (she’s 91) friend Jeanette lives in a neighboring town. She too has been on lockdown for the last year, and is vaccinated and ready for action. Mom and Jeanette haven’t seen each other in – well, we couldn’t exactly figure it out – maybe 7 or 8 years. We picked up the ladies, grabbed take-out sandwiches, chips and cookies and enjoyed a lovely afternoon at our campground. Of course, there was an ice cream shop on the way back that we couldn’t pass by…
The picnic was so much fun, we had a do over a week later!
See you next time, Mom!