Island Girls Forever!

The strange thing about being an Island Girl is that the island never really lets you go. It has some magical, mystical pull that draws you back. When I look at all of the people who have left, yes moved away, it is amazing to me how many return. Right now I feel the pull and I am being drawn back. The Island is callling me and I am resisting the urge.

Normally I like to get back at least once a year. I have my routine of what I like to do, who I like to see and of course what I like to eat. Yes, I feel that irristible desire to return and I am not sure why. Sometimes I wonder if I will end up calling it home again some day. It seems like my friends are all waiting for me. They look at me knowingly as if to say, ya your coming back and maybe one day that will happen.

In the meantime, I am excited as I will spend Saturday with one of the other Island Girls. We will be getting together to tell our stories and share our secrets. We have known each other since before I was 20 and never lost touch. I am sure we will laugh, cry and laugh some more, but it will all be good after all we are more that just friends we are Island Girls. Yes, Island Girls forever!

First Day of Fall

Today is the first day of fall. Throughout my life I have always enjoyed this time of year, but for the last few years; well two to be exact it has become a melancholy time for me. Although on the outside I like to maintain a "happy" facade inside I feel quite differently. It was only two years ago that we realized Dad would not see Christmas. It was in September that I brought the boys home to see their Grandfather for the last time. We all knew it was the last time, which made the trip bittersweet.

Dad was so excited to see the boys. He had a list of all of the things he wanted to do with them none of which he would fulfill. To this day I still have the list! Time was of the essence now, especially since he was on a time line. He still felt reasonably well so an outing was planned to Starbucks the morning after we arrived. We jumped out of the car and began walking toward the coffee shop and suddenly his legs collapsed and he had to steady himself on Alex and I. It took a moment, but he regained his strength and we continued the short distance to a chair. Once seated we all sat stunned by what had just happened. What did just happen? When we talked to the hospice nurse she said that the body begins to die in the limbs and usually the legs go first. We had just witnessed the first signs that he would not live forever nor even for long. It was a sad time; a time of many prayers, tears and difficult choices.

We each assumed our role. My mother was the caregiver, sister support and I the leader. I spent countless hours with my dad. In fact, I spent more time with him than anyone else. We planned the details of who should be called when the inevitable happened, what bills had to be paid and what documents had to signed, etc. I took him for his last car ride, hair cut and shopping at London Drugs. He had been there for all of my "firsts" and I was there for all of his "lasts". Every night I prayed until I fell asleep. Yes, it is possible to pray and weep at the same time.

I will be writing more about this over the next few weeks as we approach the anniversary of his passing.

Shaken not stirred please

I would not consider myself as a drinker, however every once in a while I do enjoy a good drink. If there is a drink that I would consider mine it is a Cosmo. I love the look; a deep pink liquid, almost red, very seductive. I love to hold the chilled martini glass in my hand, twirl the stem and then bring it to my lips and sip. Almost immediately I can feel the effect. It starts in my head and works through my entire body. I think it heightens my senses and makes me feel . . . well, let's just say, it makes me feel tingly all over. Mmmmm! I can never drink two; just one chilly Cosmo does it for me. Shaken not stirred please.

Life is like a great novel !

Today I did something that I never thought I would do. What it is doesn't matter for now, but I have always lived life a little differently than most. I feel that life has taken me to places I never would have believed possible if I wasn't able to take a chance and push myself out of my comfort zone. I don't think that I randomly take uncalculated risks, but rather I am not afraid to live life to the fullest. I have friends that are still living in the small town that I grew up in and that is OK, but I am so glad that I am not still there. If I had stayed surely I would have shriveled and died.

Actually, when I lived in that small town, I had a pretty decent life including a great job and a lot of stability, but I knew in my heart that I had to fly. And fly I did. I really wanted to take six months off and go somewhere and do something, but I didn't really know what. At first I thought that I might like to travel the world, but I discarded that idea because I couldn't find anyone to travel with who could get away for an extended period of time. I got the idea that I might like to work abroad, so I made a list of what I was looking for in a job and it was really quite simple. I wanted to be somewhere warm and have no stress. Immediately I was hired as a destination representative for a charter travel company in Venezuela! That is another story.

Before I left for my new life I had dinner with my friends and each of them told me how proud they were of me. In their own way, they told me how they wished they had the confidence to break free and do what I was doing. But I was the one who actually did it and I was on the way to a life of adventure. My friends still live in that small town and they have had wonderful full lives, but I am happy that I took the unbeaten path. I have a lot of living left to do, but I never could have imagined what a full and wonderful life this would be.

Today I took a chance and only time will tell where this will lead. In fact, life is like a great novel and I hope mine is a great read.

Today I feel very happy! Actually, I am usually a happy person, but today I feel even more happy. I think that part of the reason that I feel so good is that I really like my job. I had been away from work for the last few days at the trade show and going back today was almost as fun as seeing my family again. I guess the people at work are my family; my work family that is. People that may never have come together otherwise can form signifigant relationships in the work place; relationships that can last a lifetime !

Another reason that I am happy today is that I am now the proud owner of an iPod. My iPod is "pink"! I am not so fond of the color as I would have preferred black or silver, but I am happy with it just the same. I have been compiling a play list for a long time in hope that one day I would have an iPod, so tonight I began to load it with the music I love! I think that this will likely be a long process, but eventually I will have it loaded up with all of my tunes.

I am also aware that we are now in September and that has always signified a high energy time for me. The reason for this I believe is rooted in the many years of being in school and September is the month that school starts back. It is the month for a fresh start, a new beginning and that is always welcome. I wish I had signed up for some classes at the community college this semester. There is so much I want to learn and somehow time got away from me and I missed registration.

It is time to think ahead to Christmas, which seems so far away, but in reality is just around the corner. Maybe this year we will go south and celebrate there. I still need to spread my Dad's ashes in the surf of Mazatlan and finally set him free. He loved the beach so it is appropriate that part of him should live there forever. I think he always loved the sea. He was a fabulous sailor and spent a lot of his life living on an island. Mazatlan brought a particular joy to him and I know that he would be happy if we gathered there and let him go. It is time!

Yes, today I am very happy!

Working hard or hardly working?

For the last few days I worked at a trade show and I must admit that I really enjoy doing this. I like people, especially talking to people and there is a variety of them here at the show. The routine is that they approach the booth and we give them information about our product. At first, I did not really know that much and there was no training per se, but after listening to my co-workers I have managed to pick up quite a bit of information and feel quite confident! I want to be the best at what I am doing so I am really trying to get people excited and make them remember our product. With such a great product it is not hard to do.

The fun thing about being away from home was it was not all work! The first night Lisa and I went to see the movie "Mama Mia" and that was a fun and memorable event. It is definitely a "chick flick" so I am glad that I saw it with her . The next night we had a fabulous dinner with some of our reps from Florida! We not only enjoyed a great meal, but had a chance to tell a few "customer" stories and have have a few laughs. The story that I told was about a lady who called to tell me she had just received her new product and when she opened the box there was an overwhelming smell. When I asked her what the smell was she told me that it smelled like "electronics"...! (It was electronics). She wanted to know if that was normal, so I told her that I would open a box, walk around the office and take a poll to see if anyone else thought that it smelled like "electronics". We all had a good laugh over that one!

It was fun to spend so much time with my co-workers as we had a chance to get to know more about each other and form a strong team bond. I was the "newbie" among us and I am grateful that they were so helpful. On another note I will always remember the pb&j sandwiches; the comfort food that got us through the show.

Next year the show will be in Atlanta. It will be interesting to see what changes will happen in the company between now and then. Who will go to the show? What new products will we have?
I will surely raise my hand to go!

Dog Beach

How wonderful that we live in a place so sophisticated that not only do we have fabulous parks for our children, but also for our dogs. Yes, we have been to the dog park, which is a favorite place of our boy Baxter. It is a social time for our pet to get out and meet other dogs and we in turn get to talk to others who are as crazy about dogs as we are.

Monday was the day we finally decided it was time to step up to "Dog Beach". Dog beach conjures up visions of dogs frolicking in the surf and that is exactly what happens. We encountered dogs of every breed, shape, size and color. Some had Frisbees, others had balls, but all of them were joyfully enjoying their beach day. All of them that is except ours! Baxter did not like the water at all and when I tried to get him to come in with me he reacted like I was taking him to a watery grave. In fact, he extended his nails and attempted to climb my leg. Such a fun idea with such a sad ending...!