I didn't really understand what that meant, but I think I'm starting to figure it out.
It's not all unicorns and rainbows. My day still consists of the daily "life" things that everyone partakes in, regardless of where you live. My alarm wakes me up at 6:30am. I get dressed - contrary to what you might imagine, I can't wear shorts and a tank top to work. I wear the typical work attire - dress pants and a nice shirt (too hot for scarves - dammit!) I drive to work. Often there is traffic. Sometimes I get beeped at. Sometimes there's a jerk who won't let me in, sometimes a kind soul waves me forward. I work for 7.5 hours. Sometimes I have a good day. Sometimes my day isn't so great. Some people are super friendly. Some people are stand-offish and rude. Some days I wait in line at a crowded grocery store. Sometimes I worry about spending too much money. I drive home, eat dinner, watch TV, and go to bed. Some days my heart hurts, wishing I was surrounded by all of my family and friends again. I miss them a lot.
The magical part of living on a tropical island is all the wonderful little things you fit into your mundane everyday "normal" schedule.
Instead of drinking my tea in my car or at my kitchen counter, I drink it on the patio, gazing at the ocean with Evan. On Thursdays a cruise ship floats by at 7am. Every time I see that cruise ship I think, "Wow, I live in a place where cruise ships dock! That's pretty cool!"
Although I might be sitting in traffic on my way to work, I'm often looking at palm trees, brightly coloured flowers, and occasionally the turquoise blue ocean. It hasn't gotten old...yet, and it makes the drive interesting.
My schools are all "indoor/outdoor" buildings. You access each classroom from the outdoors. So although I'm inside most of my working day, I'm constantly walking with children to my therapy room out in the hot Caribbean sun, reminding me that I'm doing speech therapy somewhere special. One of my schools sits directly on a hill overlooking the ocean! I can actually hear the waves crashing against the shore while I'm doing speech therapy. Incredible.
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| View from my school's playground with ocean in background. These kiddos have no idea how great this is! |
I'm home by 4-4:30 most days. Some days I go to the gym - often Evan and I will take EDO Japan into town together for our gym outings. Sometimes after the gym, we set up shop on Seven Mile Beach, take the dog for a beach walk, and watch the sunset. Sometimes we go home and opt for a dip in the pool. We've been barbecuing quite a bit and often eat our meals outside, listening to the waves lap on the shore. We're usually in bed by 9pm because we're exhausted (Plus, the sun sets around 7, so the evenings seem long). Overall, it's pretty great.
I think my favorite thing about this move, thus far, is the time that Evan and I get to spend together on a daily basis. Back in Prince Albert, we both worked hard. Evan worked very hard. He worked long days, long hours, and even after returning home at the end of the day, he was often on his computer or his telephone dealing with the business. We didn't really hang out much, to be honest. We worked hard and looked forward to vacations, when we scheduled time to catch up with each other's lives. If we did have a free Saturday night together, we often ran out of ideas of things to do (in the winter, especially). Our go-to was renting a movie, during which, 95% of the time, I would fall asleep! haha.
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Here we go for walks on the beach. We swim in the ocean. I sit out and chat with Ev while he BBQ's. We play around in the pool, just like we did when we were teenagers, "How long can you hold your handstand for?" We take the dog for walks together. I make fun of the fact that he hits either a chicken or an iguana every time he drives ("They don't take this car seriously!") We laugh a lot. We've been having a lot of fun with each other. I forgot how much I like this guy, which is an awesome feeling after 17 years as a couple.
When I look back 10 years ago, I remember aspiring to own a beautiful house, possess a good job, and have lots of nice things. We sacrificed those things to move here. It scares me a bit...well, a whole lot, actually...but, I'm beginning to see the beauty in this lifestyle, mainly the fact that we're experiencing a new and exciting life together....and the stuff, although nice...was just, well, stuff.
On that note, Ev flew back to Canada today for 3 whole weeks. Boo!
But...Mom arrives on the island tonight! Whoo hoo!
I'm really going to miss my buddy but I'm so looking forward to showing my mama around the island. I'm pretty sure she's gonna dig it. The fridge is stocked with light beer and the Casa awaits! :)
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| The blowholes: This pic's for you, Darren Hunter! |
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