Back to Florida

My Homes, Chapter 5: (an archive for my descendants)
Jacksonville, St. Augustine and Tampa Florida

Beach Blvd, Jacksonville, FL - After a vacation (from Tennessee to Florida) which included going to a beach on the Atlantic Ocean, I wanted to be back in sunny Florida. So I again typed my way into various temp jobs. We moved into a medium size mobile home in 1994. I kept doing Administrative Assistant work, and turned down a few offers for permanent jobs typing on computers.

Below shows the location of our home in Jacksonville, FL. I spent a lot of weekends going to the beach!

Countryside Village Mobile Home park on left, Atlantic Ocean on right

Still living in Jacksonville, eventually I got a job doing counseling with elderly people in nursing homes. Several were in St. Augustine, where I commuted every day driving down highway A1A along the beaches! And I was just 4 hours away from my oldest son in Tampa FL who we visited every other month or so.

15th St., St. Augustine Beach, FL - I found a lovely apartment just 5 buildings back from the beach of the Atlantic Ocean, and I could drive to work in 15 minutes. My youngest son moved off to college after graduating from high school here.

Tampa condominium

Hanging Moss, Tampa, FL - a condo near the U of South Florida.  I moved to be near my oldest son and his family, while my youngest son was at college in St. Petersburg FL. Middle son had married and was beginning his family in Atlanta. I worked at a new position which fit me like a glove...an Activity Director in an Assisted Living facility, starting in 2000.

Lotus St, Tampa, FL - I rented a medium size home in a slightly questionable neighborhood (thus it was affordable.) I was now working with elders in a 200 unit independent living building...as an Activity Director still. My youngest son was living out in Colorado, while middle son remained in Atlanta. My oldest son and his family were still in Tampa, but I only saw them a couple of times a month. It was good, but changes were to come when I considered retiring!

Quote for today:

Although we have been made to believe that if we let go we will end up with nothing, life reveals just the opposite: that letting go is the real path to freedom.

Sogyal Rinpoche
Glimpse After Glimpse