Season’s Greetings!
The holiday season is now in full swing. As many of you know, I am sitting on the beach among palm trees swaying in the tropical breeze. It is rather difficult to get into the holiday spirit when I associate Christmas and New Years with chilly weather and snow! The last time we were in tropical weather for a Christmas season, I turned to David and said “I don’t care where in the world we are next year, I want to be in cold for Christmas.” When I put that out to the universe, I was envisioning a quaint Swiss village with fireplace smoke curling out of the chimneys. Instead, we ended up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada where Christmas was spent in -50* weather. For that primary reason, I have accepted that this year’s holiday will be spent in the tropics and I am not wishing for anything different!
The one Christmas tradition that I have been hanging onto over the years with our mobile lifestyle has been sending out Christmas cards. I love the act of reflecting over our year, writing the letter and as I address the cards, listening to Christmas music. This year, I am doing the next best thing and sending it via email. For those of my friends who do not have internet, I will try to call and wish them a Merry Christmas.
This year started out a little bleak but whenever going through difficult spells, I am hopeful because I realize that we are going to learn amazing lessons. Six months later, the lessons are still being revealed but one important one is we appreciate where we are at this time in our lives. We are so truly blessed with a lovely condo overlooking the ocean, David loves his new position and his new company, the wonderful friends that we have and the new people that we are meeting. Our life is richer beyond our wildest dreams. We are so very grateful for our amazing and blessed life.
My days are kept busy with trying to learn Spanish. I am doubtful if I will ever be fluent, but for the most part, I can communicate my wants and needs and get them met. I tend to understand more than I can say and I am feeling more comfortable with talking on the telephone. The other night I spoke for 45 minutes on the phone, in Spanish, with my girlfriend from Peru. It is an ongoing process that I enjoy pursuing. Spinning has become my new passion. It is a 45 minute intense stationary bike riding workout to loud music. The time goes quickly and I always feel a huge sense of accomplishment when the workout is over! I have embraced three beach dogs who came with our condo building. I feed them daily, walk them on the beach and give them “prime time, cuddle time”.
My new endeavor has been trying to learn kite boarding. This is not me in the photo, but it is my hope to accomplish this sport. The lack of wind and a sprained hand have kept me from actually getting on the board and zipping across the water. It will happen soon and I will be able to share a picture of me actually kite boarding!
As I said earlier, David loves his new project. He is building a gold mine, for the Barrick Gold company out of Canada. It is located 2 1/2 hours from where we live. He leaves each Monday at 4:00 AM and comes home each Friday afternoon. At first, I was leery of this arrangement, but the weeks fly by and our time together is quality!
Together, we have enjoyed kayaking, paddle boarding – standing on a large surfboard and paddling around, canyoning – hiking through streams and repelling down waterfalls and exploring our new country.
Due to tax laws, David is required to stay out of the US for 330 days, which is around March 25th. We are spending Christmas and New Years in Costa Rica. We have a lovely tour planned full of adventure. We will be visiting three national parks hiking around an active volcano, soaking in hot springs, zip lining, canyoning, hiking the suspension bridge above the Cloud Forest, whale/dolphin watching and snorkeling. I think we will need a vacation from our vacation when it is over.
We arrive back to the Dominican Republic on Jan 7th. Jan 13, I will be flying back home to help my dad with my stepmother. Sadly, Bea, has terminal kidney failure and Dad has asked me to come home to help care for her. Dad has insisted that we take our trip first, so that is what we are doing. I am grateful that I am available to help during this difficult and stressful time.
I have recently discovered the author Dolores Cannon who is a regressionist hypnotist. She has written several books on the spiritual world that we will pass to once we die. Her book Between Death and Life was full of wonderful lessons. A few of the many that I learned are: our thoughts become things, so we need to think good ones; while on this earth, we need to learn patience, tolerance and unconditional love; we come to earth with a “road map” of goals that we need to accomplish in our life but often free-will intervenes and finally, what we are ultimately striving for is to be one with God. It wasn’t all about christianity, she wrote about different religions as well. It answered many questions of mine and gave me food for thought for others.
So, my dear friends, from our tropical home to yours David and I wish you a Joyous Holiday Season. That the child in you is in awe of the season and you are blessed with love, laughter and joy in 2011.
With much love,
Sharalyn and David
Photo page: http://community.webshots.com/user/forshara