Leaving Pine Island

     Well, turns out there is a part of being a nomad I am not so good at, it’s the leaving part! We’ve been here since November and it’s time to pack it up and move out! It’s also the night of my fortieth birthday and I am so filled with gratitude and excitement for the coming year! Living my dream at 40 begs the question, “What next?”

     We have had an amazing season here on Pine Island and learned so much! Again and again we saw how important it is to embrace the moment and really live fully with our children and in our marriage. We also now understand more than ever how important it is that we not give up on our weight loss goals and we continue to work toward our optimum health. If we plan to live as long as most of the people here we want to be able to enjoy those years fully, as many of the guests here do!

    We had a fantastic time exploring the area, getting to know the local library and their fantastic staff and especially the people here at the Pine Island resort. We both worked outside our comfort zones, learning new things, and working with people we would never have had a chance to meet otherwise. I felt like I really had to be flexible in my thoughts of “who I am” in order to be successful here. It was very liberating!  Gin and Rob Ost taught me lots about cooking AND new ways to look at life! Rob shared a story with me that I wish I had heard last year while thinking about taking a break from the classroom. He said take a bucket of water, swish your hand around in it, make waves.... then pull your hand out. The water is still in the bucket, the surface returns to normal, everything goes on. It's very reassuring to know that no one is irreplaceable, and life will go forward with or without us so we need to make decisions for us. 

     We met so many great people, saw so many different ways of living, it was an amazing experience. And, now, just as SUEPARKER predicted, we have friends who are going to be spreading out all over the country, and quite a few in Canada, who have invited us to come visit in the coming year.

     Watching Aiden broaden his social circle has been fun to watch. He has been offering for weeks now, to take Bridgeeta to the dog park by himself in the evenings. Since it is on property, not far from our space we let him. Last night we went with him to the dog park as it was near dusk. When we arrived we realized Aiden has created a whole network of older people that come each night and he plays with their dogs! They all know him, and he knows…their dogs! He knows each one’s name, personality, who gets along with who and so on! So great, and it has helped in the boys lucrative dog sitting business as well! I am so proud of them both, all season I have received countless compliments on their behavior and level of respect for people around the park. People truly seem to enjoy having them around and I am glad to see them developing the ability to make friends of all ages.

    We have been blessed to make lots of great friends here, My friend Dana made us some amazing curtains. I Love them, they make the camper feel very homey! 

Also, a picture of Aiden and Mr. Eric, whom he ADORES! This is last weekend, the four of us were out wading in low tide when a three to four foot hammerhead shark paid us a visit! YIKES!!!! We are so grateful for the support and friendship of the Lee's and can't wait to see them up in Michigan!

  We will miss Pine Island, and the people we met there! Can't wait to see them down the road.



   (Also, I want to give a big shout out to the Coyote that FINALLY killed the damn rooster that lives behind the park.  It CLEARLY had no idea what time sunrise is and felt entitled to crow 24/7. It’s a really nice parting gift and I didn’t mind the brutal murder one little bit. I’m sorry, I didn’t. I am 40 now, I can speak my mind.)