95th Birthday

Today would have been Kristin's 95th birthday, however she passed away just before her 90th birthday.  She lived a good life and enjoyed her last few years of life.  She had a number of friends at her ALF who will miss her.  Continue to rest in peace, Kristin. 

85th Birthday!

Another decade come and gone. Things have changed a decent amount in the last ten years since my last post.  My husband passed away a few years ago.  That was pretty hard on me and I still miss him a lot. 

I moved from Kenya back to my hometown of Orlando, FL last year.  I miss my community in Kenya, but my family here in Orlando is so supportive. They helped me with my transition to an assisted living facility.  It's nice to have a built in community of friends that I can do hobbies and activities with on a regular basis. 

I've always been a fan of crocheting various crafts, but the arthritis in my hands prevents me from doing it as much as I'd like.  I don't drive anymore.  I decided when I returned to the US that I would not renew my driver's license because I think that old people are dangerous drivers. And I can say that because I am an old person! Haha.

My goal is to continue walking laps in the ALF gardens every day in order to stay up and at 'em for as long as I can. My favorite food happens to be tapioca pudding. 

Here is to another ten years before my next post! Be blessed!

75th Birthday!

Wow, a whole decade has gone by since I've written a blog post.  Amazing. It's hard to believe I'm 75 already.  A little update on my life: I still live with my husband in Kenya.  We have semi-retired from our jobs. I work part time, just one day a week to keep busy and to stay connected with the hospital. 

We volunteer once a week in the children's wing doing music therapy. I'm still active with my neighbors in the community garden, though it has been getting harder on my knees. It's difficult to think about my body starting to give out and not being able to do everything I want to be doing.  It's also been a tough time having to go to more of my friends' funerals. I guess I'm at the life stage where it's normal to be going to more funerals than any other type of community event.

I figure I still have a good amount of years left me in though. I have some cardiac issues - CHF and hypertension - but thankfully I have escaped the diabetes demons thus far.  My goals for this year are to be an encouragement to someone.  I want to leave an impact on someone's life that changes them for the better.

Be blessed!

65th Birthday!

Dear blog,

Today is my 65th birthday. It's crazy to think that I am at the age where I can start medicare and supposedly retire.  That is, if I lived in the United States.  Ten years into my nursing career when I was 35 years old I left the US to work at a teaching hospital in Kenya. Tenwek Hospital has a nurse training program. I am part of the faculty that does the clinical and hands on teaching. It has been an amazing 30 years of working here and watching my nursing students go on to become accomplished nurses and teachers themselves.  I can't imagine leaving this place to retire just yet, so as long as they will have me, I am thrilled to keep working and doing this job. 

My home life is blessed.  My husband also works at the hospital but more on the administration side of things.  Despite being in Kenya for 30 years now, it can still be emotionally challenging some days and I yearn for the comforts of my old home and life in the US.  However, staying active in my Kenyan community has created a network of friends and family for me here. 

My neighbors and I share a community garden and are often to be found digging around in the dirt.  There are no gyms to workout in here as you would think of a typical American gym. Instead I find myself staying busy and active enough in my daily life and chores that I don't need a gym.  Handwashing laundry and hanging it to dry, walking a mile each way to the local market, and volunteering/playing with the children at my church are all ways that I use to stay in shape. I don't mind driving to an extent. If I know I need a lot from the village market I will take the car, but I won't drive in the city. There are too many crazy drivers.  

My goals for the upcoming year include learning a new hobby or skill.  I've always been fascinated with woodworking, so perhaps the local carpenter will show me some of his skills.  

As far as my favorite food, it is definitely avocados, but not necessarily for the reason you may think of when you ask what your favorite food is.  The community avocado trees drop their fruit when it is ripe. As soon as you hear that familiar thud on the ground of the fallen avocado, it is followed by the shrieks of laughter and running feet of the children who race to be the first one to get the treat. I sometimes hear the thuds in the middle of the night and have to get my avocados then because otherwise the children take them all! But it is such a delight to see them.

My current favorite song is "You've Got a Friend in Me" by Randy Newman.  I find that as I age, friendships are becoming more important than other things in this world. Here is a youtube video of the song!

Be blessed everyone!