Twelve days ago Mike and I headed to Dallas to begin a new and exciting time in our lives. We were bringing my Mother In Law, Nancy back to Olney to live with us.
Oh my, the reactions the three of us have received are so interesting. From looks of awe, to comments like "is this a good thing?", to big smiles, lots of hugs and many good wishes.
We are blessed to live in a comfortable home which overlooks East Fork Lake in Olney. We have lived here for 10 years and love it. We do have to do some updates and now is a perfect time to do it and make it "our" home.
Soo, what does this mean? Well, it is time to reorganize, remove much clutter and refresh the walls, carpet and layout. We have a wonderful (2 month usage) screened in porch which I hope to turn into a beautiful year round family room with a wonderful view of the lake. As I have mentioned in previous blogs it is so peaceful here when the windows are open and the sounds, smells and views of the gifts of nature God has provided us are at hand. This renovation will make it even more of a blessing.
We have to create one home from two. We have shared many emotions since we arrived in Dallas. We have laughed, been serious, cried and reminisced as we got Nancy ready for the move. Her brothers, her "roomie" Grandson Brad and her son Tom and family all live in Texas, so it has been difficult and of course this is where Nancy and Jim lived together until he passed away in 2010, which made it even more sad for her to leave their home. However in Olney she has in addition to Mike and I, her Grandson Jeff and his family: Reagan, Emery and Lyndon. Her sister in law and nephew are here too.
Nancy has many wonderful friends which she made during her 26+ years of living in Dallas. They gave her a surprises farewell luncheon with much love and many hugs and tears and promises of visits. When we arrived back in Olney her core of Richland County friends immediately reached out and brought her back into their fold. That is the magic of Nancy, she creeps in and remains in your heart because she is a kind, loving, fun and God Fearing woman.
Mike had to return to Dallas via his Harley (he was NOT upset) for the final load of belongings. Nancy and I have rested up and are now starting to plan just what we want to do here. We have touched base with insurance agents, the Drivers License facility, she even went back to her former hairdresser. We have done a bit of shopping, gone to lunch and dinner and we run in to so many friends that are happy she has come home.
There have been several fun episodes here at home which made us laugh so hard, a safe moving (ask for details), our trio of Chihuahua's welcoming her, cooking together, it has been yummy! Driving tours around Olney, cleaning The McClure Guesthouse (our cleaning crew is now Fifi, Franz and Fiona) and starting to go through her boxes.
Yes, I am excited to have Nancy here she is a NUMBER ONE Mother In Law and I am lucky. We can be open with each other and we know if there are any problems we will talk to each other to solve them.
It is almost been a year since my Mother passed away and no one will EVER take her place; but it is nice to have Mike's Mother here with us, it helps me with that void in my life and most of all she is my friend. I am indeed blessed!
My thoughts for those of you with a MIL reach out and hug her and know that she is FAMILY!
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