Exactly one year ago, Peter and I flew to Washington, DC to look at an apartment in a retirement community. We liked it and it was near our kids and grandchildren. So we took it.

I remember how excited our family was at the thought of our living nearby.  I also remember that I couldn’t eat anything at our “celebratory” dinner that night. Sometimes I wonder if my body was telling me something my head didn’t want to hear.

It didn’t take long for my head to “hear” it. We missed everything about our life at “home". Six months later, we decided to return to Massachusetts.

Was it a mistake to come? Maybe. If we hadn’t moved, would we have regretted not trying it? Maybe. Have we loved seeing more of the kids? Of course.

Admitting our “mistake” on this blog—knowing that readers have gone through this with us—was hard.

But something amazing has happened. I have received dozens of emails from you saying that we are courageous, that my writing “spoke” to you, that you are so happy for us, that you understand, that it took “self-knowledge,” that we are making “the best decision for ourselves”.

Usually I press “post” on a blog entry I’ve written and that’s it.  But when your emails of support came pouring in, I had to tell you how much they mean to me.  We’re all on this journey together.  We make hard decisions. And sometimes we make mistakes.  When people care, it means a lot.