Helen Mwarey:  

Updated 2-7-12 Back in Alaska, of course. My life continues to bring me back here. After I lost my Mother I discovered being retired was not where I wanted to be just yet, so took a job back in our school district in interior Alaska where I raised my family, I just spent two months of 30 to 40 below zero temperatures, the lowest was a week of 50 below, down to 56 below one very dark, cold morning. This Sat it was 20 below, and on Super Bowl Sunday it went to 20 above. First above zero temperature in over two months. It's an Alaskan Heatwave!! I do drift back and forth to Florida, always traveling through Chicago to visit my sisters and one son who lives in Yorkville. Hope everyone who reads this is well and happy. Warmest regards to all! Updated 2-5-08 I now live in Southwest Florida with my Mother. She used to spend half the year here, then go north to Illinois for the other half. She was what they refer to as a "snowbird." Due to a fall she needed to be on one floor without stairs to deal with, and needed someone with her 24/7 - that's me! My sisters still have kids in college and all of my five are married with families of their own. I am recently divorced, and at a place where I could pick up and leave easily, so here I am. Life in Florida is very slooooooow, sometimes I swear I can feel the rotation of the earth slowing down. But that's ok. Mom has a pool right across the street from her home so that's handy, and the park is filled with walkers and bike riders. I'm enjoying the sun and warmth, especially on days like today when it is 83 here and 52 below zero where I used to live. I was in Alaska for almost 28 years, then spent 4 years in Hawaii before moving here. I feel fortunate to have been in such beautiful places. And after being away so many years, and the visitor in my family, it is great to spend some quality time with my mother. She loves to hear stories about life in Alaska. My five childr...Expand for more