"I go to Florida sometimes for vacation.
I actually really like Florida.
It's a weird place, it's surreal.
It's so close, but you feel like you're
in another world or on an island."
Jemima Kirke
I've been hiding out from you, my blog friends...
From myself too.
The reality set in.
I'm in another world--Florida.
I like it, guess I'll love it, with time.
But it's not home yet.
I'm working on it.
I hope you settle in soon, Dewena. Except for the time I spent at college, I have always lived here and I am sure it would take a long time to feel at home anywhere else...no matter how lovely! :)
ReplyDeleteLovely to see your post, and the picture too!
ReplyDeleteThings take time, be patient ...
Here's to a good July
Sending my good wishes
All the best Jan
I'm with you!!! I'd be hiding under an umbrella too, my Dear. The sun... Way too much for me... :-)
ReplyDeleteBut let's call them parasols, yes? :-))) Sounds more fun!
Gentle stay-cool hugs,
Tessa
Hey, dearest Dewena! I'm trying to be a better blog friend and comment again! Oh, Florida! You'll be thankful in the winter when it's comfortable outside, but I get you on the rest of the year! Tropical weather is certainly a different world, but very beautiful. I hope you can get to enjoy it soon! Much love!
ReplyDeleteIt takes a long time to settle into a new place - they say give it a good year. Thinking of you, Dewena - hope it's not too crazy hot down there!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean, dear Dewena. I lived in So Calif. and No Calif. and each place is so different, but soon enough it will feel like home. And if you ever move again, you will always have a piece of this place in your heart. It belongs to you now. Hang in there, it will get better. But if you don't ever get quite used to it, who says you can't move somewhere else?
ReplyDeletelove, ~Sheri
Hugs to you Dewena. I pray you fall so in love with your new home. When I moved here, I would walk to the end of the driveway, so I could see the tower of the town's courthouse, 5 miles away. I used to live 6 blocks from it. I cried everyday for over a month. If I could not have seen the courthouse, I don't know if I could have made it. I still want to move back to town...I do not know if I'll ever get too. Maybe you can visit some folks where you used to live if the ache gets too bad. I think once you learn more and make friends there...you will be okay. Praying for you dear. Blessings, xoxo, Susie
ReplyDeleteI've only been as a kid to Ft Walton Beach area. I really don't remember any of it. I'm sure you will grow to love it.
ReplyDeleteBe gentle with yourself...moving is a very hard adjustment. Thinking of you and sending you a hug.
ReplyDeleteThe home you left was so lovely, I'm sure it would be hard to feel the same about another place. But, you will find new things to love, I'm sure of it, in time.
ReplyDeleteMoving is hard, and the older we get, the harder it becomes. But you know that.
ReplyDeleteIt will get better. Good things don't always happen overnight. It takes time to get used to new surroundings, new people, doctors, stores, etc. But it keeps life interesting :)
Hang in there!
xxx
Moving is really hard and surreal at times. I can relate. Just give it some time and hopefully it will begin to feel like home. It takes some time to get use to new things but soon it will begin to feel familiar and more like home.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Kris
You are in South Florida, which is North. Going to North Florida, you'd at least recognize some things, like accents, grits and "the wave" in traffic. But moving to South Florida has taken you to a completely different region of the country. Put a little umbrella in your drink and close your eyes. Tropical FL can be good for the soul. Ahhh.
ReplyDeleteMaking changes with regards to our every day, favourite stuff is hard enough, like a brand of coffee, for example, never mind changing house, city, state and climate! Very understandable, my friend. Adapting to your new surroundings is, therefore, much like developing an acquired taste, so sip slowly. Before you know it, you will come to savour every drop!
ReplyDeletePoppy
I'm a Cape Canaveral baby !! Then to Galveston Bay age 3. Back to Cape Canaveral every year for dad's Air Force active duty.....
ReplyDeleteHad to make myself love land locked Atlanta, GA. Took awhile.
I do LOVE my Georgia home. Beach Baby never left, just expanded her horizon.
When I get sad in my new home, 1 year now, for my old garden, I just push it into the new chapter of thinking. Hurts a moment, deeply hurts, then gratitude at this new layer of life. Waves, of sadness, without a tide chart. But I must push into the new chapter each time. No choice.
XOT
my dearest southern belle with a bumbershoot.
ReplyDeleteI have no idea whoever called them that... I just remember hearing it.
but i'm glad you have one! the sun can be brutal.
to me it's almost as if you have landed in a movie.
and right now you're playing a role.
soon enough it will begin to feel real and natural no doubt.
time is the great leveler always.
I confess i'm STILL not adjusted to this climate and the flatness. and I've been here forever it seems!
you just store it somewhere where it doesn't hurt too much I guess. and good things about it all find their way to your heart.
and then of course...
it TRULY IS beautiful there!!!
hug the tiny furries for me dsm.
love you!
tam
Like anything, it takes time to do something new. I'm not a good one to advise you as I've lived in the same home for thirty years. I pray you get attached to your new home and feel comfortable as soon as possible.
ReplyDeleteSending a big hug,
Jane
I am a bloom-where-you-are-planted kind of girl. Even so, I have never fully come to terms with living in the Upper Midwest. I wasn't made for hot, humid summers and flatlands. Still, there are many things I have come to love here and would miss if I were to be uprooted once again.
ReplyDeleteIf I were living in southern Florida, and since bikinis are out of the question for me, I would buy myself a bouquet of umbrellas for the sun.
I would feel the very same way. I confess; I am uncomfortable with change. We talk about moving closer to our son and daughter in Kansas City, but I know it would be a major adjustment to leave our small town where we have lived since we were married and where we have worked and raised our family. Sigh. Hang in there; it will take time and a positive outlook. You can do this!
ReplyDeleteWell I hope that you are not affected by the algae that I have read about on the Net that is affecting some waterways and locations :) I live in Southwestern PA and don't like the humidity that we get in the summers so I don't think that I could ever acclimate to a place like Florida...I hope that you can and get used to it over time :)
ReplyDeleteI can understand why you would feel that way. It's a big change. Give yourself some time.
ReplyDeleteSometimes we all have to hide! Hope you are having a wonderful Fourth of July holiday down there!
ReplyDeleteIt's good to hear from you, Dewena. I remember when I moved from New York City back to NJ. I had a major anxiety attack one day, wondering "WHAT HAVE I DONE??? Where is the dry cleaner? Where do I go food shopping? I miss my doorman! I WANT TO GO BACK!!!" And then...little by little, I found my way around, and really began to love where I lived. It took time, though, for it to feel like home. And now, it is. It will happen for you, I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteI've lived in Michigan since I was 9 years old, so don't know anything about big moves, but I can imagine they're hard, especially if you're a home-loving person. I pray your new home will begin to feel more like home for you. Do you know that Edgar Guest poem about it takes a heap of living to make a house a home? Maybe after you have a birthday and a Christmas and a family gathering or two in your new house, it will feel more like home. I know that was the case for me when we moved to the house we're currently in. It wasn't really home until we had had some memories built into the walls, if you know what I mean. Blessings to you, Deborah
ReplyDeleteI hope you're settling in, dear Dewena, it takes time to adjust to new things and then one day you wake up and discover that you have :-)
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
It's so different from where you were ; I can imagine how hard it is to get used to!
ReplyDeleteI love Florida. I was born there (Navy baby), then moved back there after high school. Stayed for 20 years, before moving to Idaho, where we now live.
ReplyDeleteMoving can be so hard. It took me close to 10 years before I stopped missing Florida and considered Idaho home. I love it here now, but there were many years I just longed to move back to Florida. So, yes, you're right, in time, it will be home to you.
Blessings,
Patti @ Embracing Home
I have the strongest feeling that you are going to end up absolutely LOVING IT THERE.
ReplyDeleteMy dear friend,
ReplyDeleteI do know exactly what you mean!! I have been doing a blog series of stories on being a transplant...it takes time to get use to a new place.
Sending HUGS,
Carla
Time is the only thing that will bring you home to Florida. Take as much of it as you need! We'll still be here....
ReplyDeleteI have so many of your posts to catch up on! I've missed reading them. I think writing about your feelings for your new home will help clarify what you do love about it. Do you read Sallie's blog? http://travelingrainvilles.typepad.com/traveling_home/
ReplyDeleteShe makes Florida SO very appealing. The scenery, the water, the birdlife is quite, quite wonderful.
Good Morning Dewena,
ReplyDeleteMoving is a big deal!
You not only moved from your beloved home and comfortable surroundings you relocated to another region of the Country that has it's own way of doing things and they are not what you are accustomed to. Give yourself time and it is okay if you don't love it, you can just like it for now and let time do the rest.
Jemma
Oh how I love living here! Once you get out and explore and find lots of favorite places to go, you'll have FUN! Of course it's too hot to have much fun right now. lol Sweet hugs from central FL, Diane
ReplyDeleteDewena, I've always loved island life; so many people, after a while, claim rock fever, but it never bothered me. Florida is a peninsula, as close to an island as one can be without actually claiming the title. It's a different mindset, just like living in the mountains or on an island. You'll find your even keel, figure out what you love at the right time of the day and enjoy.
ReplyDeleteNo changes on my end; waiting for good weather so I can hay.
I moved a lot when I was a child, and than several times in the early years of our marriage. I know what you are going through. It's that awful ache deep in your heart for home! In my experience, it took two years for me to feel at home in my new place. I think it was directly proportional to how many new friends I made in our new area.
ReplyDeleteOur neighbor moved to SC from Texas when she was 70 and her husband was 76. They were very homesick at first, but then they joined a church, joined a senior center with chair supported exercise classes... she joined a bowling league, a quilting club, a travel club, started a Bunco club, and plays cards with us at least once a week. We even go to baseball games together! So quit hiding and get "out there" and enjoy every minute! Don't look back. PS Get a new library card at your new library and look for a writer's group that meets there.
Dewena,
ReplyDeleteI can understand your feelings completely....I have an urge to move myself, closer to my children, but what if I don't like it? I have lived where I am for over 30 yrs and in the same town my whole life. You've made the move (which is so very brave) I think once you become involved in the community, meet more people and make memories in new favorite places, you may feel differently. Give it some time....thinking of you!
Linda