We thought we were blessed to leave South Carolina before the ice but the drive to Florida was long and hard. We drove through drenching rain and what should have been 4 hours took us eight. Floss drove the hardest part and it was dark for the last hour and most everyone knows driving at night is hard for her.
Being with Cheryl and David has been just what we needed. Catching up on each other's lives and enjoying the Florida sunshine is wonderful. We are introduced to all the people who love them here and it makes me happy to see how much they are loved and appreciated. I am honored to have worked with Cheryl and we have become best of friends. We have been treated like queens in their lovely home.
We have talked quite a bit about retirement. Dave and Cheryl have been retired for ten years. Their lives are filled with travel to family, cruises all over the world, and engagement with their community. They took us to the "Villages" which is one of the largest retirement communities in Florida. The ratio of men to women is 1 to 11 and they have the highest STD rate in the country. That is a statistic that surprises people with stereotypes about the sex life of the elderly. Clearly, there continues to be a seeking of partners at all ages. There were many more women out and about in the community than men. However, there did seem to be comradarie for men in the bars.
The next day we took a trip to Winter Garden and again the number of retirees and facilities for the elderly were evident. Golf carts were everywhere in this beautiful outdoor shopping mall we visited. We met many snow birds. It gave us a chance to talk with people from all over the country. They love Florida but they hold abiding love for their cold weather state.
The financial worries for some are real. The 73 year-old woman who continues to work as a hostess and the older couple from Belgium who could not return for the funeral of a parent are but a few examples. Scamming the elderly is a continuing problem. Trust is a wonderful virtue but when it is misplaced you feel terribly violated. Losing your life savings to a trusted person is unconscionable and unimaginable particularly for the elderly.
Between observations we did a little shopping. When we are together we really have to monitor each other on the shopping. We have not been toooo bad YET! We took a pinkie swear today that buying cloths was done for the rest of the trip. Want to take a few bets on that one?
Cheryl and David are a perfect example of what retirement/aging can be. They have made the Minneola area THEIR community. In every store or restaurant they call people by name, know their stories, and have become their friends. They are generous to everyone. Cheryl hugs and David smiles.
It was appropriate for us to be where we were for Valentine's Day. We were reminded of what a difference hugs can make in your life. There is physical evidence that a 20 second or longer hug makes a positive change in your body chemistry. We are blessed to come from an extended family where hugs are the norm.
Together David and Cheryl lavish their love on Joey, their treasured dog. David built a special ramp so Joey, who is fourteen years old, can easily climb into bed with them. He is a lucky dog!
A new special love for these two are David's motorcycles. Cheryl trusts David implicitly driving and is very comfortable on the back of the Harley "Bagger". They are planning a trip to Oregon this summer (three months) to visit Wendy, their daughter, and her husband, Greg, and their granddaughter, Maya. They will pull the motorcycle in a trailer behind their Jeep cross country and then drive along California's Route 101 on the bike.
Like all of us David and Cheryl have had painful life events that shaped them in their younger years and still are working through some difficult moments. Some of us learn from those events and some of us don't. Cheryl and David seem to have learned and chosen love as the answer. Their nicknames for each other are Precious and Champion. They personify those names to each other and others daily.
Cherish is the Word.........
He calls her
Precious
She calls him
Champion
Names
Reflections
Heartfelt labels
conveying deep meaning
Was she always
precious?
Was he always a
champion?
Does a thoughtful/thoughtless
name define?
Do words hold the power
to create?
Precious Champion
self-fulfilling Names
grow and glow warmly
as they age
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