My Happy Place, by Jane Kruger

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Born at Edmonton General Hospital to a single mother, which was risqué at the time. However,  the man next door thought she just glowed through the pregnancy and was even more beautiful.  They married when I was 4 months old and gave me 3 step sisters. 

We moved to the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia just before I turned 6. It was a small town called Winfield back then. The name has since been changed to Lake Country. I started grade 1 in 1966 and at graduation, a lot of us had been together for the 12 years of schooling!  

Off to college but I dropped out to go to work and move away from home,  finally.  Asked my job with a big bank to transfer me to Edmonton and they did as I wished.  Finally,  I feel a lot freer. Now to have some fun!

On to the next phase of marriage and 2 daughters.  However,  the marriage didn’t last but we agreed to be great parents and we both did stay amicable and raised two beautiful women. Today,  I have a granddaughter from each of them and I love grandmahood even more! We are certainly a family of girls!

I met another man and spent the next 27 years with him.  The first time we came to Mexico was in 1997 with two other couples.  We spent a week in Puerto Vallarta and I was in love. With everything,  the food,  people and the weather,  of course. From then on I talked of retiring to Mexico.  Every chance we had, we returned to Mexico to see something new. 

Everything happened all at once. They closed the mill so I was jobless.  My husband left and we divorced.  The blessing was the house sold but now I added homeless to my list. So I decided México was calling me and I moved back to British Columbia and in with my mother and started making plans.  A few months later I was flying to Merida,  Yucatan for two months followed by two months at Chapala after which I compared the two places but, for me, Merida was too hot. Chapala is perfect!

I am truly blessed by my home, the friends I have made, my stress-free lifestyle, and especially because I can garden year-round.  I wouldn’t trade this for anything.  




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