Beloved,

I have just come back from a hiatus in so many ways. Last winter was so bad with the snow that I made arrangements to be a snow bird this winter. I chose Hilton Head, SC because it was on the ocean and warmer than here and was half the price of Florida. I knew it would be cooler than Florida but it did not have snow which I wanted to get away from at that time. It felt like it was divinely orchestrated as this ocean front one bedroom unit seemed to fall into my lap. I had never been to SC but I heard a lot of good things about it. El Nino has had a good laugh on me as this has been one of the best winters where I live. There was no need to escape.

It had rained for the three days that I traveled and it was raining when I arrived. I was not only shocked to discover that it was a huge complex but the new hire who was going to help me told me there was no elevator and expected me to climb three flights of stairs to get to my room. . When he told me there was no elevator, I decided I was going to do a return trip to Massachusetts. Finally he found out where the elevator was and proceeded to help me unload my luggage.

I was in for an awakening into a journey of adventures I never expected. I assumed it was a small complex as it was only 3 floors high which would not be a problem for me as it had an elevator that I could use to bring my scooter in case I needed it. Well, little did I know that the complex was huge, 842 units, and the elevator was on one end of the building and my unit was clear down to the other end. It was a long hallway about a football field in length with two heavy fire doors with the metal push handles across them. I needed to open these while operating the scooter but I found a way of just jutting one arm out straight against the metal bar and using the power of my scooter to propel me through. Of course, I needed to do it quickly because the scooter needed the high speed to have the power. That was the only way I could get from my car to my room. That is not even counting that I had to carry groceries and trash while navigating with the scooter.

I have artisan well water here at my home which I absolutely love. I had bought a water filter that you can just screw on the faucet which I thought might solve any water problems but when I got here; I discovered that there was no kitchen faucet, only a sprayer and a deep sink. I brought the filter I bought at Home Depot back and exchanged it for a Brita filter which is all they had. It comes with a pitcher that holds the filtered water. I was amazed at how quickly the water seeped through the filter. The water still did not taste like mine but it was better than no filter at all. It took me over a week to finally figure out how to stop the spray and get a solid stream.

From the beginning I had challenges with the technology. There were 6 remotes, which one runs what????. After changing batteries and figuring out which ones worked on what, I was able to get the TV to play. To my amazement, all it had closed caption, the writing across the screen that is used for deaf or hard of hearing people. I really tried to adapt to it but my eyes would automatically read instead of absorbing what was being said and getting into “it”. I finally called the office for help and someone came to help me. He could not get the CC to stop so he suggested getting a new remote. I went to the store and got a new one with advice from the sales clerk. My helper came up again to see if it would work and after an hour gave up. There was a much smaller TV in the bedroom so he switched the TV’s for me but it was harder to watch the smaller one from the position of where the TV had to be on this high cabinet.

I went back to the store to return the remote when a thought came to me (guidance). Why not go see if they had a remote with a CC button on it? So I went back and talked to another sales person and we came up with a remote that had the CC button on it, more expensive, but at this time, it did not matter. My helper came back up again and he was able to get the closed caption to go off and he switched the TV’s back again. Whew?

This complex has its own telephone system, I was told to dial #8 to get an outside line which worked but then they switched it to #9 without telling me. If you wanted to call another unit, you did not have to do that, just dial the room #. This telephone was in the narrow hallway high up on the wall with no place to sit if you were talking. It was not portable. My son told me to buy another phone that was cordless so I could move around the unit. I did that and it made life a little easier because my cell phone would not work here. That is why they have a land line phone because so many people’s cell phones won’t work here. For the first month here, I had so many people tell me they called me but I was not getting the messages. Once in a while my cell phone would work which was another reason for the self-imposed retreat. I was incommunicado for most of the vacation.

I finally got settled in and made peace with the fact that I could not get out of my unit to my car or anywhere else unless I used the scooter. I felt a little trapped as if I had lost my freedom of movement. The complex finally gave me permission to leave my scooter outside under the stairs when I used my car to go anywhere I did not need it. If they had not conceded that fact, I would have to take the scooter apart every time I went anywhere, even if I did not need it where I was going, put it in my car and then take it out and put it together just to get to my unit. I did this every day as I tried to get out every day if the weather permitted. My motorized scooter cannot be used in the rain so when it rained, I stayed put.

One of my biggest disappointments was that there was no means of getting to know my neighbors, no place to meet them. This complex has nothing in place for people to meet, like perhaps a meet or greet for the newcomers to meet others. It was too cold to be around the pool and they had three long boardwalks to the beach with a lot of soft sand to go through before you actually got to the hard sand and the water. They would not let me park my scooter on the boardwalk and there was no way I could walk the long boardwalks and have enough movement in my knee to walk the beach. So here I could see the ocean from my room but no way to get to it. After two weeks, I found a public beach about 15 minutes away by scooter that had a boardwalk and it also had hard plastic that went almost to the hard sand. I could use my scooter, park it and then walk about a half hour on the beach. It also had a bathroom which we all appreciated.

Then they had to shut down the elevator for a week for maintenance. That was the last straw, I was coming home. The owners I rented from found a unit on the first floor that I could use until the elevator was running again. Since each of the units is owned, they had to pay a week’s rent for me to stay there. I had already paid them for 3 months stay. The unit itself was not as nice as the one I was renting but to my amazement, I felt more at peace in it. It could have been because I could go out to my car and not need my scooter. It did not have a view of the ocean so I was not being tempted by something I could not have. and it was less modernized but I did not have to navigate any stairs although I did have to pack up and move and then pack up again to move back.

Although I was dressed like an Eskimo to go on the beach, it still was what I enjoyed doing the most. Not very many people went to the beach but at least there was someone to talk to and get to know my surroundings. For two months it was so cold that I used my winter jacket every day. I could not use the balcony to sit on because it was just too cold. Finally in March, more people started to come to the beach and it was warmer so some would even bring their chairs and sit there. What a thrill it was to see people sitting on the beach and starting to wear lighter clothes after two months. Most of the people had dogs who so enjoy running on the span of the beach, they chase balls and even go for a dip. Hilton Head is very dog friendly.

I loved the St. Francis by the Sea church and the people that attended. I joined a few things there and the library had quite a few offerings including a movie once a week. So although because of the cold weather, I could not go on boats for dolphins or kayaks or many of the sights I wanted to see, I kept myself going out at least once a day for some activity. In cold weather, I have a hard time pushing myself out of the house because I just want to hibernate. I cracked a rib by bending down and twisting to retrieve something. Darn, that meant not only pain but movement and reach would be curtailed.

I was starting to think that the Universe was creating a retreat just for me. I did do a lot of soul searching and many things I had buried came up to be acknowledged. I was so sad that I call it soul sad. I am used to being able to see the best in all that happens but this time, I was really down and out. I have been alone for 25 years and have never felt this deep loneliness. I was craving human contact but it was so difficult to find. This is slow season for SC so most of the units are empty.I told my kids that their mother was going to come home being a genius. Every time you do something in a different way, a new pathway opens up in your brain, like if you use your less dominant hand. I am doing so many things in a different way that I must have a multitude of new pathways in my brain.

One thing I enjoyed was less pain with the arthritis. My hands were pain free and my knee also felt better. They have high humidity because of the ocean but surprisingly the temperature feels colder there. 60 degrees there FEELS colder than 60 degrees here. My hair loved it too as it would feel thicker with the humidity because it is very fine.

I have been drinking so much of my water since I am home. I don’t even care if I have to get up during the night. It is so refreshing and my body is craving it. I did not drink as much water there as I normally do because it tastes slimy and my body did not take to it very well. Perhaps it is all the chlorine.

You know I feel like I have to learn all over again where things are in my home and how to operate the TV remote and my telephone. Do you remember when you did not have to key in the area code on the phone? That is how it works in SC or at least the big complex I was in. I guess the habits were created and now I have to remember consciously not to dial 8 or 9 to get an outside line and that I have to dial the area code again.

I came home two and half weeks early because I finally decided that was what I wanted to do. There was no reason to stay if I did not want to. I had another trip ticket from AAA that routed me so that I did not have to go across any bridges in New York, they scare me. The trip was good and I had planned on staying over two nights again but on the second day when I got to Connecticut and I felt tired, I decided I was only two hours away from my own bed so why stay over. I am still having challenges like my bathroom rug was wet so I called a plumber who came over in an hour and discovered a screw loose in the bottom of the tank and when he touched it, the water started pouring out. It was fortunate that I came home when I did because my house could have been flooded. While he was here I asked him to look at my kitchen faucet which leaked occasionally and he took it apart and said I needed a new one which he happened to have in his truck. If I did not know this man who has done work for me before, I would have thought it was a scam but the Universe provided just what I needed at just the right time.

I know in my heart that I am being watched over, we all are. Yet that feeling of sadness and loss of freedom was still there regardless. I am handling the problems in the moment and not getting as upset when these challenges come. When I got home and listened to Lee Harris’s Energy report, it felt like he was talking to me. It makes so much sense; you and I are healing this planet and bringing up its vibration with our love and willingness to help. I know that I have been given so many opportunities to be only in the moment. I need reminders because I am a planner and I want to figure things out which means that I am most of the time in the past or in the future. I am becoming more aware of living right in the moment and having a deep knowing that I can only affect this moment as the past is gone and the future is not here yet. None of us can affect anything but “NOW”.

http://www.leeharrisenergy.com/lheblog/march-2016-energy-forecast

Here is another explanation of all the solar events happening which are affecting you and me.

http://spiritlibrary.com/dana-mrkich/new-moon-solar-eclipse-in-pisces?utm_source=Spirit+Library+Updates&utm_campaign=59d1456f4a-Daily_Update&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ef6a5211f4-59d1456f4a-120804410

Would you like to go to Mastery School? An explanation for your loss of memory?

http://www.spiritofchange.org/mind-spirit/Symptoms-of-Dimensional-Shifting-Phase-One-Is-Complete/

Should I trade in my scooter for this? I don’t think so but they both have a purpose? Isn’t our world getting bigger and brighter with all these new inventions?

http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/sleek-3-wheeled-car-to-get-84-mpg-and-sell-in-us-for-just-6800/?utm_campaign=newsletters&utm_medium=weekly_mailout&utm_source=02-03-2016

—
Love and Light

Mary Grace

http://www.IAmMaryGrace.com
http://www.TheWoundedChalice.com