This is THE FASTEST WINTER on record for me (hence the title ;). You know how Winter just drags? Like how by February you have just HAD IT with the cold and snow and clouds and Spring seems so damn far away? By March you are tired, cranky & have completely lost it (perhaps this is some of you today in the midst of this latest winter storm! I mean you guys are getting thundersnow?!). By contrast (don’t hate me) I want to slow down the hands of time! I know our time here is slowly running out and if I could I would freeze time. But Winter here is….ahhhhh…. just so lovely with its eternal warmth from the sun, vibrant tropical flowers, palm trees swaying, turquoise waters begging me to go for a swim. By now you completely hate me. But don’t! Because I have proven for you, without a shadow of a doubt, that seasonal affective disorder is legit! You’re welcome 😉 Every Winter, by February, my normal happy day is punctuated with random bursts of emotion that range from unexplainable sadness to moderate exhaustion. There are two obvious game changers this year: 1)Sun 2)Sleep.  These two grand additions to our life have made all the difference. Knowing this cannot be sustained as we need to eventually move home, I can at least cling to the knowledge that #1 I’m not crazy when these “symptoms” reoccur next Winter (and neither are you!) and #2 there’s a fix! While the fix may not be attainable in the foreseeable future, just knowing there is a solution is reassuring. Or is it?

As snow bears down on my friends and family in the Northeast right now my initial inclination is to feel guilty. But I have decided to consciously swap out this emotion for one much more productive: gratitude. Our loved ones have ALL been happy for us and have only wished for us to enjoy every moment this year. Because of them, and because I know how harsh winter can be back home, I am incredibly thankful for today. I am thankful for every day I have here. My children are thankful. My husband is thankful. This is a dream. And while nothing is entirely perfect, even in paradise there are problems, when I look around me there is far far more to be appreciative of than to ever complain about. I promise to do a blog entry about how it really truly is frustrating in some ways to live here. No place is perfect. They’ve got their issues here, people! (While the slow pace is very enjoyable, it does come with a side order of serious inefficiencies that can drive you to drink. And its easy to feel helpless & sad about the devastating poverty here. I sometimes long for…. I wish I had a better word…civilization.) BUT, from my perspective, the good outweighs the bad here, the sun outweighs the clouds, the kindness outweighs the rudeness.  I may miss my Dunkin Donuts iced tea, but I have “Coconut Chris” who delivers freshly hacked coconut water to my doorstep. You have to be thankful to have a guy like that in your phone contacts! With all of its good and a little of its bad, I am grateful for my island.

This particular Winter is rapidly passing me by also because there is so much going on here! I had envisioned sun soaked languid days on the beach reading book after book. I actually (this one makes me chuckle) had concerns I may be bored here. HA! Not even close. LIFE IS HAPPENING! ALL the people are visiting! We are doing ALL the things! And we are traveling around this island and beyond like its our job. We have had back to back visitors since early January with only brief gaps of days in between. It is so enjoyable to share our island with family & friends but its also tiring. We are cherishing the days when its just the 4 of us as, between Dan working & our visitors, it feels rare.

Last month we were invited to sail in the Grenadines with our friends on their Catamaran. It was a few of the most memorable dreamy days of our lives. These tiny islands are just stunning. We were pampered on their gorgeous boat: swimming with turtles, exploring islands inhabited only by giant iguanas, lobster & rum punch for lunch, being lulled to sleep by lapping waves and the delicate chime of the boat lines. It was an experience we will all cherish.

Since then its been guests, lots and lots of surfing, and squeezing in school days. On school days we wake up when we wake up (usually by 8), have breakfast and the kids begin their lessons. I try to run out to the gym or pilates for an hour or 2 after they settle in and I feel like they can be independent with their work. Honestly some days I cannot get the workout in. If I have to go to the grocery store or on another errand, I also cannot take that time away to drive to the gym. I mean I am their teacher after all! I do love the laid back, loosely scheduled days we have here. Not sure my body loves it though! Between haphazard workouts, lots of eating out, and so much rum….thank goodness for loose fitting sundresses! Today, for example, was supposed to be a school day. But Dan’s flight home canceled, the waves are AWESOME right now, and I’m the coolest mom ever 😉  Trifecta! So we agreed to a 1/2 school day starting at 3pm so they could surf the West coast and I could sit under this teal umbrella by the pool and write to you guys!

Channeling all the sun’s warmth I am currently receiving to all the folks back home! Are you getting it? I hope so. And I hope Spring arrives earlier than forecasted this year for my friends and family.