Nearly a month into it and I finally feel as though I can sit down and try to put everything into words.
This is a new place for me and I am, admittedly, having a bit of difficulty adjusting. It's a challenge, despite my knowledge of these circumstances before I arrived. You never can tell how you'll respond until you're 'in it'. I had hoped I would feel settled, to some degree, but having encountered that ugly snag at the border, I feel anything but. It's hard to relax when so much remains undetermined, and worse yet that everything is out of my hands. It's unnerving...to say the least.
Historically, I don't do well when I'm not working and this is no exception. But I'm doing my best to stay positive and keep myself occupied. Thankfully, I have other ways to pass the time. Were it not for Kate, I think I would be a whole new kind of miserable. She introduced me to Indoor Climbing and I instantly fell in love with it. Now we climb together at least twice a week. It's incredibly therapeutic for me. Besides the obvious physical benefits, it's the one thing that allows me to stop thinking about my aforementioned frustrations and just be in the moment. It's precisely what I need. And Kate's companionship is a godsend. I love that I'm here with Patrick, but a girl needs her girlfriends! My girls are decidedly distant and I miss them terribly.(Olivejuice)
I don't mean to sound negative...I am, after all, finally in Canada and I couldn't be happier about that. Waking up next to Patrick every morning is worth all of the internal struggle. I just have to remind myself of that sometimes. I don't know that I fully comprehend that I'm HERE yet. At times I still feel like I'll have to drive home in a few days. And what a lovely thing to realize that isn't so! Patrick and I remain strong...we are learning how to live together. Considering how seldom he's home, it hasn't been that much of a challenge! So far, everything seems to be falling into place quite naturally.
We spent the last week of January on Maui with Patrick's family. It was a perfect respite and I'm incredibly grateful to the Wilsons for taking us! We enjoyed various activities in the mornings and lounged on the beach or poolside in the afternoons. I grew a few new freckles and even tried my hand at surfing! Granted, Patrick had to assist me, but I did get up a few times! What stands out the most for me was our second day of scuba diving at the Cathedrals off Lanai'i. Not only was the location indescribably beautiful, but while diving we could hear whales singing! It made my heart race! I've heard plenty of recorded whalesongs in my lifetime, but this was altogether different.
We saw numerous Humpback whales throughout the week. There were alot of competition pods with males wrestling for their right to mate. They were surprisingly active at the surface, slapping their fins and flukes and occasionally breaching. I had never seen whales before and was childishly excited. We could even see them from our resort! I tried to take photos, but they were usually too far off to really get a good shot. We went ocean rafting and came very close to an active pod so I did manage to capture one exceptional image....
I'll be posting more pics from our trip soon! I certainly have enough time!
I hope that all is well...please sign my guestbook and let me know how your lives are unfolding. I miss everyone and would love to hear news of you....
xoxo