We’ve settled into somewhat of a rhythm over the last three weeks. Sunny and Tobin have taken to long early morning walks together (up to two hours every day!). They came home the other day with the intention to begin picking up the trash they passed on their walks. They now go out in the mornings with a garbage bag and fill it by the time they come home… making Florida a little more beautiful every day.
Ben works in the mornings, while most of us head to the pool, soak in the beautiful healing rays of the sun, and upgrade our swimming skills. It’s fun to see the younger children getting more comfortable and confident in the water every day.
Returning home, the older children are variously doing online work, reading, writing, working on personal projects, taking long unicycle/rollerblading trips, upgrading their art skills, and practicing Spanish.
Sunny is reading the unabridged Les Miserables right now. How fun it was to converse about the characters as we floated in the pool with a gaggle of little children listening to us roll over themes of grace and law within the story.
Dorian as begun reading A Happy Pocket Full of Money, perhaps my favourite book on finances, ever. He has also been doing a 30-day challenge to sketch a foot every day… it’s amazing to see his progress in just a few days!
Duke has an online Spanish teacher in Nicaragua, who was telling him that ultimate Frisbee is a thing in Central America too!
Tobin has been doing a ton of web design work, not to mention making great lunches for the team. Tucker has been honing his video editing skills, Snowy is researching geckos, Auden is writing recipes, Poppy is making smoothies herself and doing as many grown-up things as possible every day. And Cotton, Nova, Keats and Truett are really good at making art, contributing to healthy baking, and eating snacks!
Ben and I are enjoying the rainy season where the rain just pops up (or down, I suppose) once or twice a day for about 10 minutes. The heat is great and not generally too overwhelming. We are going on lots of walks together and enjoying our new double jogging stroller – such a treat! (We threw out more than a couple broken/deadbeat strollers in the dumpster before we left Ontario!) The two littlest boys love the rhythm of the wheels bumping over the sidewalk, while Mommy tries not to squish geckoes. Ben and I love the time to talk, process life, and work out our visions for the future.
We are having so much fun dreaming, and planning the next leg of our adventure. We anticipate that Central America will be our next landing place and we have already connected with many incredible Canadians who are on the ground in the areas we are keen to visit. We have always desired to give our children a cross-cultural experience, and it is so exciting to me that we can make this happen while they are all still “at home”.
Technology is a gift in so many ways, connecting us to people and places that in previous decades would have felt inaccessible.
We’re feeling energetic, inspired and so very happy as we stretch ourselves and try new things. Stepping out of our comfort zone has a way of upgrading our senses and awakening us to whole new vistas of opportunity and joy. Feeling thankful.
