My husband I are in North Carolina taking a turn caring for my 90-year old Mom.  It is quite a change for us to be away from our chickens and our two acres out in the country but we feel good about being with Mom and making her latter days of her life happy.

To be honest, I cried a lot when I first moved here.  I just missed my life that I had been living for 17 years out in the country with just me and my husband.   It is always difficult when you add another person to the mix, even when you love that person dearly.  Kind of like when you have a child.

I am around my relatives now which includes three sisters and one brother and nieces and nephews as well as Mom.  There are family gatherings, outings on my sister’s boat and meals with family at our home here.  Plus, one of my daughters (NC) and my only son (Washington, DC) came to visit.  I am hoping to see more of them since it is a lot closer for them to visit.

So, even though we had a lot of peace and quiet in Florida all by ourselves, there are things to consider as we get older.

If my husband passed away, I would be without any of my family down there.  It is difficult enough when someone passes away but then to have to uproot your life and move, wow, that would be really hard.

So, this time taking care of Mom is our trial period to see if we could be happy living in NC instead of Florida.  We are in a condo so no yard to care for which appeals to my husband, I think.  But seriously, if I were to live here permanently, I would have to have some property where I can have a few chickens.

Even though I am 64, we found some part time work that gives us something to do and some extra money.  If it weren’t for that, I probably would have looked for some volunteer work to do.

So, when the time comes for us to make changes in our living location, we are going to be deciding whether to stay in NC around my side of the family or move back to our property in Florida. At times I feel in limbo. Not necessarily a place I like to be so I am focusing on having fun with my family and enjoying this time with Mom.

April 6, 2015 update

Well, it has been almost 2 years living here in North Carolina taking care of my mom.  Being a caregiver is a very difficult job.  It has been so confining for us and we are very spontaneous people.

Plans are that we are returning to Florida the first part of June and another family member is moving in with mom.  I feel bad leaving mom but I just can’t do it any longer and remain sane.  Mom doesn’t want to be left alone even for a few minutes even though she is not bedridden and cooks her breakfast and does her laundry.  Her nerves are bad.  Thank God I have three sisters who have filled in to let us get out of the house for awhile and even get away to go back to Florida to check on our property.  I feel bad for an only child who tries to do this by their self.

We may at some point in our lives move back where my family lives but now we are considering moving near one of my daughters who lives in another part of NC.  I definitely see why it is important to live near family as you get older.