Another chapter

We are soaking up all the last moments of the beach life because today we bought tickets to move back home.

I am surprised at how sad I am that this short chapter is coming to an end. Initially, I was tentative to move out here. The town is small, it's far from the city, not real close to john's work and last but not least, I am NOT a water, well specifically ocean, person. Have I told you about how much of a ocean person I am NOT? No, let me share with you....

On my honeymoon John and I went to the romantic island of Hawaii. I knew I wasn't a surfing, swimming snorkeling type of a beach person, I was more of a lay in a lawn chair with magazines, books and drinks with umbrella's type of beach person. John however, is the exact opposite. I recognized this and was content to let us each enjoy the beach in our own way, John on the other had was going to make me an ocean convert. So....on the first day of our honeymoon he convinces me to just get in up to my waist. He reluctantly drags me in and for a few moments, I'm enjoying it, it's not so bad, the rhythmic motion of the waves was nice and it really was picturesque. The enjoyment however came to an abrupt halt when I was pummeled by a wave. I was turned pot over tea kettle and drug along the sand and came dangerously close to having my bathing suit bottoms washed out with the wave. I come out if the ordeal with half a beach worth of sand in my hair, pulling up my bathing suit bottoms and bleeding from my waist. I assume that the ocean and I have mutual feelings toward one another and I vow to spend the rest of my honeymoon on the beach.

Fast forward a couple to the last day of my honeymoon, I've remained true to my promise and have not gone into the ocean again. However, I see John almost sprinting in from the water with a huge smile on his face. He tells me that he's never seen snorkeling like this and I HAVE to come and see. I resist at first but he convinces me that I'll regret if I don't, so I schlep myself up to the beach gear rental place and I check out a boogie board with a hole cut out so I just stick my face in and can see the ocean life, but I don't actually have to commit to putting my entire face in the water. It sounds like the best of both worlds and I decide to get that. John also convinces me to grab a snorkel and goggles" just in case."

I reluctantly hop on my boogie board and john pulls me out to where he saw seat turtles, and fish and star fish and blah blah blah. We get out there and john tells me to put my head into the hole and take a look. I do, and I must admit, it was like looking at an underwater post card. It was beautiful. I decide john is right, I'll regret it if I don't take put on my goggles and snorkel and take a better look. I'm certainly not swimming around, but I'm on the surface of the water, spread eagle, head in the water and not drowning and dare I say, enjoying it. However the enjoyment was short lived again because from behind one of the rocks comes an eel. It may has well have been a man eating Parana. I immediately take my head out of the water and try and scream at John. But, when I go to scream at him, I can't even open my mouth. I'm sure this is sounding a little melodramatic, but trust me, when I say I could not open my mouth, I COULD NOT open my mouth, my jaw locked shut. with the snorkel in it. I try and free it, can't. I stressed myself out so much my jaw locked shut. For Pete's sake. I flail back to shore (where John doesn't even notice I've left) with my boogie board and a barely breathing because the tube-y part of the snorkel keeps going underwater somehow and water keeps making it's way through the tube-y thing and into my mouth, thus almost drowning while my head is completely above water.

I reach the shore, again try and free the snorkel and realize it's still stuck. Well, hmm, now what? I certainly am not going back in the ocean,so there I sit on my beach chair, looking through a magazine,.....with a snorkel in my mouth.

So, you can see how I was less than thrilled to be living on the beach, but John is very persuasive and so beach life it was. I am happy to say that I could not have been more wrong. These last 4 months have been one of the highlights of our time as a family. The life out here is simple, we don't have anywhere we have to be (well at least Ambrose and I, someone has to bring in the bacon around here) and our daily uniform is a bathing suit (and even that is being generous for one of us). To top all of our beach time, John's work has required significantly less of him lately and he has been home more in the last 4 months than in the last 5 years.

So, we again close a chapter on our life feeling incredibly blessed.