Falling In Love With the Lanai
I walked in the front door, took one look at the lanai, the pool just past it and the beautiful pond twenty feet from the house and fell in love. For those who might not know, a lanai is Florida’s version of a porch.
This particular lanai had a wall of sliding glass doors between it and the living room and another wall of sliding glass doors that disappeared when completely opened, between the lanai and the pool. Surrounding the pool a screened enclosure covered nothing of the stunning view.
“I’ll take it,” I told the realtor.
“B-b-but you have to see the rest of it,” she replied, stunned to have a sale so quick. This was only the fourth house I saw since beginning the search for the perfect home. There could be no other for my daughter and me. We recently returned to Florida after the death of my husband.
The Lanai and View Made the Sale
More to sooth the realtor than anything else, I tore myself from that perfect view and wandered throughout the remainder of the house. Horrible wallpaper covered the walls in a couple of rooms. The tiles popped as we walked down the hall, and in the large master bedroom, a huge king-sized bed brought home to me just how lonely that room would be without Bruce. The place came furnished, which suited me just fine for the moment, although my taste ran contrary to the current owner’s.
The realtor turned to me, certain the items to be corrected spoiled the deal.
“Like I said, I’ll take it.”
“There are multiple offers on it,” she said. I figured there would be because that view would have sold the devil himself on it.
“I’m paying cash. See if that makes a difference. And I want to move in as soon as I can get my household down from Pennsylvania.”
Made an Offer They Couldn’t Refuse
My offer left the others in the dust. We filled a moving pod in Pennsylvania and stored it in Florida until I drove back down, visiting my brother along the way. Another reason I looked forward to the move was a friend I met online, who lived in the same area. We planned to meet soon after my daughter and I arrived. That meeting went beautifully. Today, I share the writing of this blog with her and count her as one of my best friends and one of the loveliest people ever to enter my life. Two other friends from our previous stint living in Sarasota made the return bittersweet.
Once in, we moved right back out again to a hotel while workers replaced flooring, removed wallpaper, painted and a decorator worked on custom drapes for the living and dining rooms. The day we moved back in, I headed straight for my beautiful lanai and the million-dollar view.
Meeting the Neighbors…the Animal Version
Days often found me having coffee or soda out there. Rainy days, made sweeter and cozier as I watched Mother Nature light up the dark skies while snuggling on a wicker sofa, helped ease the pain of loss. On more than one occasion, as mating season arrived, so did an alligator drifting up and down the pond, looking for a ladylove who never showed. He satisfied his appetite for fish and eventually moved on to bigger waters where she might be waiting.
A Sandhill crane family, complete with two babies, often strolled past the screened pool, sometimes looking in at us, as though to say hello.
Although I stayed busy, too often I looked around to get Bru’s opinion, only to remember only his spirit remained with us. Still, I knew if he had been there, he would have loved the house as much as our daughter and I did.
Year Around Usage
On the few winter days when the temperature dropped, that enclosed lanai kept us warm. Yet on hot days, it was invariably cool and welcoming. Being closer to family, who lived in Alabama, made it possible for my brother to visit.
Too Soon, A Sad Good-Bye
Then he became ill, so ill that his life hung in the balance. Barely two years after moving into our dream home, we sold it to move back to my childhood hometown. There we bought a house. Once more, the porch is the best part, with its wooded view. Never will it compare to our Florida lanai and our Florida home, for they formed part of my life’s dream in a state and town I loved almost from the moment I saw them.
We have pictures and we have memories of Florida. With any luck, one day we will again live in the only place I ever truly called home.