THIS IS THE LIFE!!
"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." -Abraham Lincoln
Well hello people! It's been awhile since I have sat down and written anything about how things are going in Nevis......that is to be interpreted as a good thing (well except for those of you who are dying to know what is happening in our world!) as it means that we are busy and having alot of fun......Things are going great here and we are all very settled into our routines......I was reading one of my friends blogs today (she is a dear friend that I made during my time in Saba) and her title was as per above "this is the life", and I thought you know what? She is so right! It really is! Every day I realize that we are so so blessed to be having this experience! 18 months ago, when we decided to go down this strange path , I don't think that we could ever have foreseen some of the neat and awesome things that we would be doing or the great people that we would meet or just how amazing this all would be.....its funny how we always say when one door closes another opens....or at least a window opens.....I know I always preach that to people....but I remember when Joe did not get in to Dal, how disappointed we both were and how it almost seemed like the end of the dream.....and then I remembered my friend Lynn who had mentioned something that I thought whacky and crazy at the time, about studying medicine in the Caribbean and I said to Joe, lets look into that! Maybe it is an option! We were not so sure initially....we thought this is about the craziest and nuttiest thing that we have ever considered or done in our lives! But you know, here we are a year into our time here and it has been an amazing experience....sure the road has not been smooth or easy and many sacrifices have been made, but at the end of the day, I know a good thing when I see it, or live it! And this is definitely a good thing! I can just imagine myself for years to come talking about our time here.....looking back and saying Remember when we lived in the Caribbean? How exciting is that?? How many people can utter those words? Wow!
So as you can tell things are great! the weather is perfect everyday (sorry to say it yet again!! I know how you all love my weather reports!!) I am having a blast.....I still have my horses around so I am trying to get out riding as much as I can. Monty is doing great with the riding and enjoying it, Christian loves his best buddy, Big Red and I love them all! They have become very dear to me and I am not sure what I will do when I have to leave them all behind! I spend alot of time down at the barn and I love it there. What an animal adventure park it has become! There is a big wildish pig that hangs around and she just had 6 piglets so we are enjoying watching them grow. There are about 20 monkeys that hang out there and they are always putting on a show and performing for me....the other day I just sat in the middle of the field for about 30 minutes and watched them play, they watched me just as closely! It was very cool.....Besides the barn, I am also putting alot of energy into getting into shape....I know I know, you've heard it before! But this time I am really sticking with it! I have a small group that I exercise with and we run/swim/bike and climb together at least 5 days a week at 615 AM! We are now up to running about 4 kms.....then we walk another few.....we are aiming for 5......all of us are planning to go in the Try a Tri, which is a mini triathalon the end of March.....we are all pretty excited and somewhat nervous about it.....I may change my mind and just do the 5 km run but I am training for the Tri just in case! The running is coming along great, and the biking is pretty easy peasy, but the swimming is going to be an issue! lol.....I am really trying but I am so slow in the water! I imagine I swim about as fast as a jellyfish! I am trying to learn to do the front crawl with proper breathing but it is hard! You know how I am about putting my face in the water! So I put my face in and do 3 strokes and I am supposed to be in theory blowing water out while I do those 3 strokes....then come up for a breath in after the 3rd stroke....yes it sounds easy, but people, I SUCK! so I come up for my breath and then I realize, oh crap, I forgot to blow out the last breath, so then I have to blow out the air and grab another lung full before plunging my head beneath the water for the next 3 strokes....so my breathing is all uneven and after about the 3rd cycle of this I have to stop and stand up and breath properly for a minute (which I am thinking is problematic for the Tri since I am fairly certain the water will be OVER MY HEAD....which translates to no standing up for air!! Anyway Monty was trying to coach me the other day and he got the greatest kick out of how terrible I was (and he's quite good by the way!)....and my friend Jen, who is this amazing athlete, brought her boys along and one of them was swimming beside me saying "wow Dawn, you are really slow, I can totally swim faster than you" (he's 8!) He said it a few times so finally I stood up and looked him in the eye and I said "if you tell me how slow I am one more time, I might possibly drown you!" He laughed and laughed and then off he went....little bugger! I know I am slow but I dont need to be told how slow every few strokes!! Anyway it is an ongoing saga and I will keep you all posted how (or if) I progress! I am thinking that I can talk the organizer of the Tri into letting me use a flutter board, or floaties....lol! Just kidding!
The boys are doing great, both enjoying their school, both have made some wonderful little friends and both are involved in some great activities! Monty's Seastars group is so cool, they are working with a young sea turtle that the marine biologist rescued after the hurricane.....yesterday Monty had it on a leash in the ocean, teaching it how to maneuver around in the wild! He is totally thrilled with this! What an amazing experience! He is also playing soccer and still going to Survivor Camp....and he has a few really nice friends.....I have to say that this is the happiest and the most relaxed that I have seen Monty in a long time....maybe ever! I am so happy that he is happy here! And Christian is doing great....he misses his family back in Calgary and PEI....but he is pretty happy too.....
Joe continues to do well in school.....he studies round the clock.....that is probably the only real downside to this journey is that he isn't really getting to experience alot of it with us.....his workload is crazy! I am so glad that it is him doing it and not me! But it is great that he is doing so well.....and it is all going so fast! It feels like time is just flying by!
So I better tell you a few funny Christian stories before I sign off! The other night we are watching a movie and the 2 main characters end up kissing....so Christian says in a very indignant, somewhat disgusted voice "oh well, now i guess they have to get married!" I said why dear? He said "because they kissed and now you dont want her going and kissing other boys and spreading all those germs now do you?" I laughed and laughed.....then the other day as we were driving, he says, "mom, I dont think that I am going to get married...and I say ok why? he says, well you know because grown ups dont wear pajamas and have to sleep in their underwear and I would be way too embarassed to let her see my underwear!" I laughed, and said its ok dear, you can wear pajamas when you are married if you prefer.....he still didnt look convinced.....it was so funny....I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing really hard.....cause he was pretty serious about it! Anyway he is such a cute kid, a delight really......I have some pretty great boys I tell ya!
ok all, I better sign off....my hand is aching from all my typing (not just from my blog btw, I am a serious facebook/email/messenger addict! I will be looking for a program upon my return.....do they have Facebook anonymous yet? I might have to start a chapter! any of you out there want to join with me??
So have a great night friends and take care, I'll try not to take so long between postings! I miss you all, so God Bless and we will talk again soon! Love Dawn
