Hi – so glad that you are interested in following our adventure.

I am Sheila, mother of two, wife of 38 years and an accountant who recently retired after working more than 22 years for the Jewish Federation of Cleveland.  I have been blessed to work with an amazing group of dedicated coworkers, who humbled me by their outpouring of love and appreciation when I retired.  I was touched to know that I had made a lasting impression on so many lives.

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This is not my first adventure, but it will be one of the most memorable.

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We will be starting out from Cleveland in July and are in the final stages of planning.  The boat is almost ready, having received some major upgrades, many of which were done by Bob. The house is almost packed – and rented to a lovely couple with two small children from Canton.  I felt pretty good when they first came to see the house and the first thing they did was take their shoes off.  They have since come to plant tomatoes and peppers, which are growing nicely.

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I must be honest and say that I am nervous about what we are about to do.  It has always been something off in the future, something to dream about and fantasize about.  But now it is here.  There are endless decisions to make and many goodbyes to say.   The separation from our daughters, Karen and Shaina is not so easy, even though I know they will come to visit.  Having cell phones, FaceTime and Skype sure does make things easier.  Times have certainly changed since Bob and I moved to Israel in 1979 when letters were written on aerograms.

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My mom is amazing at 91 and I will be back at various times to visit during the year. 

We had to say goodbye to Delila, our 15 year old cocker, last week.  It is almost like she knew we were leaving and made the decision to say goodbye.  She got very sick last Saturday, lost a lot of weight and with her cancer back, we knew the right thing was to say goodbye with a kiss.  All dogs go to heaven and she is now playing with Samson.  Thank you to Dr. Wohlfeiler for being so sensitive and caring.