Merry Christmas

I don't ask for much...all I want to do is play with my grandkids, sit on the deck of my boat and watch the sunset in the evening. Life doesn't have to be complicated. -Susie Marshall

Wow...what a year 2017 has been. If people think we live a relaxed lazy life, they should have been with us this year. We started the year off by selling my childhood home and emptying it of fifty years of memories and a lifetime of stuff. Starting January 2, I went room by room sorting through things...putting things aside that family would want and hauling the rest to a donation sight and selling some items. 

We headed back to The Pearl in Virginia three days after closing on the house the end of March. Sometimes everything just falls into place when you need it to. It was a long, busy three months, but the job was behind us and that felt wonderful. 

Back on The Pearl we spent weeks working on boat projects and visiting with family and friends. By May we were ready to cruise north to Ithaca, NY were we spent the summer exploring, hiking, fishing, wine tasting and spending time with Kyle and his family in Pennsylvania.  

Towards the end of August our peaceful calm life hit a wall...everything seemed to come to a complete halt. Hurricane Harvey arrived in Rockport on the 25th and changed everyone’s sense of normal. One day everything seemed right in the world and the next day everything was upside down...nothing looked the same and the basic comforts of life we take for granted were gone. Our family was extremely lucky...our homes and boat faired well. All needed some repairs (still an ongoing project) but they were inhabitable. My Dad was the least fortunate; his assistant living home flooded and is still under repair. After 12 weeks of being displaced, first living with my brother and then with us, we finally gave up on Trinity Shores and moved him into a new place in Victoria. By Thanksgiving life was returning to normal. 

The real highlights of our year were the times we spent with our family, especially our four wonderful grandchildren. They’re each growing into such special, amazing little people, they bring a lot of joy and love to our life and we feel blessed for the time we get to spend with them. We look forward to another year of adventures…although hopefully it’ll be a little less stressful. We wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year.