I think I already covered my bases previously about my
long absences on here. I took on quite a
bit this last term, from Christmas knitting projects to Christmas art pieces to
the most significant photography project I’ve ever been a part of (and, incidentally,
created). All of that combined with my
efforts to plan our departure (which includes selling most of our possessions
in Grenada) and our arrival (getting our hands on a car as soon as we get back
to the States has been the biggest headache so far) means that I’ve been stuck
at home most days. Of course I’d like to
get out more and swim in the sea and volunteer and just hang out with friends,
but those social and recreational urges are being smothered pathetically by my
manic need to prepare for life back home.
I keep looking at our return as the jarring moment when my life gets real again. And I can’t help but think to myself, “Oh [expletive]! What have I accomplished in the past two
years?!”
So that’s been the goal this term—apply myself to
building whatever marketable skills I have that are going to help us through these
next few years as we continue to move to … wherever. Since self-employment is the most obvious
decision for me for a family that can guarantee no permanent address, I think I
made the right decision in what skills to hone.
At least I can say that we are getting out at least four
times a week for a nice run around the neighborhood. And we’re actually getting better with that
also! Once a week, we run an extended
loop around a cute neighborhood nearby.
It’s a perfect 7+ mile run through fairly quiet streets lined with trees
and flowers. It’s also a pretty
strenuous route since it includes a few ridiculous hills. I’m convinced that there is no limit on a
hill’s grade in Grenada. And running up
Campeche hill, I’ve sworn to myself a few times that it must be some insane
grade that’s simply not legal in the States.
But, still, in the past three weeks, Ivan and I have shaved 5 minutes
off of that run. Just one week after
Ivan said he didn’t think we’d break a certain time, we broke it! I have to admit, it was a pretty great
feeling. Unfortunately I don’t think the
same thing will happen with our shorter runs.
As it turns out, I’m awful at running short distances and can barely
keep up with Ivan. But after about the
fifth mile, I could run forever!
