Five Years I Never Could Have Planned

Irene Parker
Jul 1
2 min read

The last five years have been quite a journey—one that neither Charlie nor I could have imagined.

As COVID began to wind down, we made the big decision to leave Las Vegas and start a new chapter in Southwest Florida. We packed up our lives, including Charlie's 95-year-old mother, Maxine, and headed for Pine Island. It felt like the beginning of an adventure.

We quickly fell in love with island life. The slower pace, the wildlife, the sunsets, and the wonderful people made us feel right at home. Our plan seemed simple enough: trade our rental property in Henderson, Nevada, for an Airbnb in St. James City while making our home in nearby Bokeelia.

Then, almost exactly one year after we arrived, Hurricane Ian changed everything.

Like so many families on Pine Island, both of our homes suffered major damage. Unless you've lived through a hurricane and flooding, it's hard to imagine what rebuilding really involves. It's not just repairing walls and replacing furniture. It's months—and often years—of insurance claims, permits, contractors, delays, unexpected setbacks, and learning far more about construction than you ever wanted to know.

Just when we thought our vacation rental was ready to welcome guests again, our own home flooded a second time. We packed up once more and moved into our little Airbnb while our house was lifted twelve feet into the air and rebuilt from the ground up.

We never planned on spending four years in the construction business, but life has a way of rewriting our plans. Today, we're finally seeing the finish line. Our home is nearly complete, and our Airbnb is back welcoming guests and earning wonderful five-star reviews. That's something we're incredibly grateful for.

With life finally settling down, I've been able to return to another passion—creating. Over the past month I've been rebuilding my e-commerce business with a fresh direction. While "Put That On A Pillow" was a fun chapter, I'm finding myself drawn more toward photography, graphic illustration, and wall art that celebrates the beauty of everyday life. Don't worry—I still enjoy designing a great graphic T-shirt now and then.

Yesterday I realized something that made me smile. I graduated from high school in 1976, America's Bicentennial year. This year, our nation celebrates its 250th birthday, and here I am living in a little slice of paradise, doing work I genuinely love.

After everything we've experienced over the past five years, I've learned that gratitude isn't something you feel only when life is easy. Sometimes it's something you choose after making it through the hard seasons.