In the middle of the winter is not the best time for a visit back to Indiana, but we had some great family reasons to make this trip. We are continuing to enjoy the warm Florida weather during this winter season and plan to stay in Florida until March 1st. My mom just moved to a facility near Indianapolis and Pat’s family threw a surprise 90th birthday party for her mom, so it was off to the Hoosier state for a long weekend to see both moms and family.
Trish actually drove up a few days earlier to see our kids in Virginia on the way and then to spend some extra time with her mom in Greencastle Indiana. I flew up on Friday 1/19 to meet her, then back on Monday 1/22. It was great to combine two occasions to see both of our moms. Frontier Airlines have some super low rates. I really do not see how they can make a profit at $49 round trip.
The surprise birthday party for my mother-in-law was on Saturday at 1:00 pm at her church in Greencastle. Greencastle is a small, 10,000 person town located in the west central part of Indiana. A slow pace and not much in the way of traffic. My kind of town.
The party invitation above was sent out to over a hundred people and the church was full with many friends and family. It was great to see everyone and to celebrate with this wonderful lady. She is quite amazing and has led a wonderful life. Seven of her children were in attendance from all over the US along with many grandkids.
It was great to be there for the party and to celebrate with her. From Greencastle, we drove up to our hotel near the Indy airport to spend some more time with the other out of town family. Catching up with them and playing an online game called Fibbage. You play the game while looking at the TV monitor and provide answers via smartphone. Very cool use of the technology.
On Monday, we drove up to the northeast side of Indy to see my mom in her new apartment at the independent living facility. She sold her Florida home a couple of weeks ago and now is settled into her new home where they provide 3 meals a day and a plethora of activities.
It was great to see mom in her new place. After we spent the last two months together during the home selling and downsizing phase, it was good to see that she is doing well at the new place. A much simpler life for her now. I kind of felt like a parent checking in on the child at college.
The quick weekend trip was over in no time and we were back in the warm and humid Florida weather. Although we will surely miss seeing all the family.