I’ve been meaning to write about our Thanksgiving since… well Thanksgiving. Its amazing to me how each day slips by so fast and every single day is so unpredictable & completely unique. I’m disappointed that I haven’t found time until now to sit and blog. Somehow the past few weeks, jammed packed with adventure & a healthy dose of school, have whizzed by.

As Thanksgiving approached I had sort of geared up to be a little bummed. I knew my family was celebrating together in Vermont without us. This was not the first Thanksgiving I have spent away from home, but its the first time I spent the holiday in another country. Obviously Thanksgiving is not celebrated here so we had to make our own celebration. We picked Dan up from the airport, “dressed up” (i.e. the boys put shirts on) and went to a sunset dinner at this very cool beach front place near our home. The restaurant is outside on a huge deck over looking the ocean. It has a Swiss Family Robinson vibe to it complete with trees growing up through the floor boards and beyond. They make the best Rum Sours. I only had three. Dan’s first officer was without his wife and kids and so Dan invited him to join us. I had also invited my friend and her family to come. After the sun went down and dinner was served (delicious fresh catch!) more and more people we knew showed up for dinner and drinks. As usual we were the only Americans. But we appreciated all the toasts to us and the shared celebration.  One of best parts of the night was being in the company of Dan’s co-pilot, a man who happens to be a war hero. He was a humble guy and so we had to coax the stories out of him. But his tales of being a special ops helicopter pilot, being shot down in Afghanistan and the events that unfolded after – left all of us on the edge of our seats and our jaws in our laps. He was seriously wounded and was awarded multiple medals for bravery & valor including the Purple Heart.  I have never been in the company of an individual with more gratitude than he. Multiple times he said that its a miracle he survived those events and that life is a tremendous gift to him. He is so filled with appreciation. In the way he talks, in his smile, how he carries himself – his exuberance in the life he has been given was eye-opening for all of us. We all treasured our time with him and didn’t want the night to end. More than anything, having him there, gave us an opportunity to give thanks to someone who risked all to defend our freedom. To celebrate a holiday in which we give thanks, it was very apropos and truly a gift that we were able to spend the holiday with this hero.

The search for surf is a daily event around here. The 2 surf spots close to home get checked every day. And there is always much communication with surfer friends on the island. “Where is it breaking?”

Most days we have school in the morning and then when dad lands in the afternoon, its surfing. Or if dad is home in the morning, the day begins with surfing and concludes with school. And if dad is off altogether – its surfing for a big part of the day.  And therein lies one of the most gorgeous things about homeschooling: We make school work around our day, instead of having our day work around school. There are things I dislike about homeschooling. But the flexible schedule is not one of them! I love it!

Dan and the boys have surfed the most popular spots here on the island.  One spot happens to be challenging to physically get to. However when we got to Maycocks last week, we were greatly rewarded for our troubles! You park on a random dead end street that appears vacant. Then you walk past the stray dog, through the tall weeds, alongside the cows, (dodging the cow poop), and descend down down down the rocky slippery slope to a field below. As you are trying not to break an ankle, the lack of sun compels you to look up and around, you realize you are basically in a jungle. As soon as you step foot on level earth you can hear the crash of the waves in the distance. A short meander through the prickly meadow and you’re on sand. On this particular day we had the entire beach… the entire ocean even… to ourselves! I love this beach. While there isn’t a large expanse of white sand, the beach itself is a diverse collection of palm trees, mangrove trees, grassy hills, giant boulders, driftwood, tidal pools and beautiful seashells. I saw monkey footprints and could hear them in the trees but they were shy this day. I set up camp for myself (ummm… a beach chair and my towel) & the boys paddled out. It was waist to chest high but glassy and perfect. Although a reef break, I found a small spot that was mostly sand and went for a swim until a crab pinched my bum! I hunted for shells & treasures along the coast. I took a ton of photos & videos of them. I felt like we were on a deserted island which was pretty cool.

That afternoon we met up with a few local friends at a new cafe on the beach on the West Coast. Think Caribbean beach hut meets Newport Beach coffee shop. Its the spot to meet friends, drink latte or rum punch then make your way into the calm waters of the West Coast and float around.  They rent out glass bottomed kayaks and stand up paddle boards and you basically go and hang out for the day. This was a Sunday. Sundays for locals here are strictly reserved for r&r. There is no shopping or chores or work of any kind. There doesn’t even seem to be a lot of childrens’ sports scheduled for Sunday. Most locals go out on someone’s boat or go to the beach. And there is always rum involved! Its not a bad way to live. It certainly serves as a sharp contrast to my typical Winter Sunday …. at an ice rink! We enjoyed the company of familiar faces and made some new connections too. I could get used to Sundays here!