Finding Serenity in a Major Family Change

Yesterday my 84 year old mother moved from our family home to an independent/assisted living facility. It's the beginning of a new chapter in her life and the beginning and end to a chapter in my life and that of my siblings.

She was ready to move forward although it was a little stressful.  The move was quick and relatively smooth and her apartment is very nice.  When I left last night my mother had gone to dinner with her new neighbor and she had already been welcomed by the Welcoming Committee and several of the staff.  My sister commented that it kind of reminded her of a college dorm especially since they have communal dining, but it very very upscale.

I am positive that my mother will find her place in her new home, luckily she already has a number of friends who live there as well and she is a very social person.

Since this is a blog about serenity I probably should mention that her moving to this new home has brought me serenity in knowing that she is safe in a community that will watch out for her, in a home that is conducive to an active life while maintaining a safe environment for everyday living.  Last night for the first time in a while I slept soundly, part of it was due to the physical exhaustion, but part was due to knowing that mom was in a safe place.

On a different note - I am really really sick of this winter, snow, ice, cold - it makes it difficult to be serene when you have snow for the 5th time, although before you have to go out and shovel or clean your car off or drive in it, just sit back and look out the window and observe the beauty of it all and the wonder of the world.  I look out my backyard at the watching squirrels and birds eating seeds from the feeders that my neighbor puts out and enjoy the serenity of the peaceful world around me.  Even now with the ice coating the trees and the grey skies I'm finding my serenity and enjoying just sitting at my Macbook writing this blog while the world around me is either in the dark (power outages) or sitting in massive traffic jams due to falling trees across the roads.

Find Serenity in the beauty that surrounds you.