Life...lately

It has taken me about six weeks to get back into the swing of things. After our vacation to the Pacific Northwest, I felt kind of stuck. As much as I was looking forward to getting back to my little island, it was a tough adjustment---and only after spending just one week back in the U.S. When we went to Washington, it was to explore and to ask ourselves, "Can we see ourselves living here?" It was an incredibly fun idea to entertain, because in about a year, we'll find out where Matthew gets placed for his clinical year. If the placement is at OSU, then we'll definitely be exploring more of the Pacific Northwest, and probably looking for area to settle.

When you daydream about the future, you think about where you'll live, where you'll work, where you'll take your kids, among many other things. And we did just that on our vacation. Every place we visited, we familiarized ourselves with that town, building, store, park, beach---with hopes of returning. In retrospect, I think it just took a long time for me to stop daydreaming and realize that we have to finish up on Saint Kitts first, before beginning our next adventure. Once I realized that I needed to get my head out of the clouds, find my footing on stable ground, and go about life like normal, it was difficult to tentatively let go of my future plans. OH---and not to mention that I was intensely missing Fall in the Mitten. Autumn is, hands down, my favorite season, and so I became a bit homesick for the first time since my move to Saint Kitts.

With that said, I'm happy to report that I have fully recovered from said rut, and am enjoying island life again. Living here, in the Caribbean, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I kind of lost sight of its blessing for a while. But, I'm joyfully back on track. The beaches have not looked more beautiful or serene. The sunshine has been an amazing blessing to wake up to every day. And I've spent quality time with those who matter. I've finally nailed down a schedule and have been busy the last couple of weeks. When people ask me, "How's this semester been going for you? What have you been doing," I can now honestly say, "It's going well and I've been [insert super fun activity here]."

Things I've been doing a bit more consistently this semester:

Sundays: Flag Football and Soccer
Monday: Running with Tiffany (RWT)
Tuesday: RWT and Trivia
Wednesday: RWT & Doggie Beach Day
Thursday: Tutoring and Spanish Class
Friday: RWT, Subbing at Ross Preparatory School, and Beach Volleyball
Saturday: Volunteering at the Sea Turtle Studio (jewelry creating and designing)

In addition to the activities above, I've been cooking every single night, managing to keep the house clean a bit more routinely, spending time with Matthew, Milo, and Trooper, going to the beach, and just generally having a good time.

So...that's the update for now.