Ethan’s Journey

 I woke up early this morning and started working right away. With the good weather that was rolling in, I wanted to be done early enough to enjoy it. Paul and Ethan got up at a leisurely pace. THEY had the day off! I was not jealous (I am lying).  I want to be very clear that spring is my LEAST favorite season. I prefer the summer and fall instead of the spring. The rain, the mud and the damp, cold air just don’t thrill me. Then Mother Nature throws in a teaser. She says “hey, hang in there, this temperature is coming soon.” That was today. She also throws in an abundance of wind knowing she has to pressure wash the stale winter air out of our house. We know the drill. Windows open, blast the stinky cold air out with fresh, new and much warmer air. Paul did lots of man chores. He has uncovered our camper. Woo hoo! Step one that camping season has started. I went out to assess the condition and I am happy to report that we had no rodent activity! Win! I was able to wip things ...

It is Thursday already. Wow! This week went fast.  I got things set up and am finally reaching a good pace for my schedule. It took a few days to reset and get into the swing of things.  We went out to dinner tonight for a birthday celebration. Dinner was yummy! Cheers! I solidified plans for next week for Sarah’s birthday weekend’s . We are set to go. I put in for my vacation time in May. It is showing my PTO is at a deficit. I am ignoring the fact that I have already made my plans. If there is an issue with my PTO request, that will be unfortunate for the company. I will not change my plans.no apologies on that. Work/life balance is important to me. Both Paul and Ethan have Good Friday off. I do not! Of course I think this is crap! 

I got Paul with ann April Fool’s joke. I told him his paycheck was significantly less than it was supposed to be. He started to freak out a little. “April Fools!” I told him.  I totally got him.  Ethan and I were texting back and forth today. He was sharing that he is obsessing over getting the supplies he needs to make fireworks for the 4 th. He theorized that he feels he has little control of things in his life and he thinks it is so he has something to look forward to.  He has vacation time over the 4 th of July and is really looking forward to that. His friends are going to be joining as well. He knows he can control the fireworks he makes and buys for the fireworks display, control when he gets the supplies and control WHEN he will make the ones he is going to make. We got into a discussion about control. He feels like it is something he has control over. So he is going to move forward with buying the fireworks. He has found a whole sale store and has plans for what ...

 We have begun planning our next tropical trip with Andy and Diane. We are in the beginning phase of planning. We are throwing around ideas. I was invited to “Taco Tuesday” at Avery and Kendall’s. I finally got to meet the infamous Poppy, Kendall’s grandpa. He was so much fun. He loves Jiminy, so I brought Jiminy over to hang out too! Avery’s cat Pluto, was so curious of Jiminy’s. He was almost stalking him. Avery made the taco meat and browned the taco shells. It was delicious! I enjoyed spending time with Kendall’s Mom and brother as well. We are getting saturated  with rain!  There is so much. One corner of our basement is quite damp. Ugh! The dogs are so gross after they go outside. But here is what I am thankful for. Ethan shared that he finally feels like he is in a spot where his medical issues aren’t looming over him. This made my heart warm!

 Things I am grateful for today: I got to see Mom and Gene and give them hugs.  The weather was pleasant. Paul was making me laugh this evening (by trying to annoy me). Avery and I had a wonderful chat about planning for her future. Avery is pretty sure she is going for her doctorate. She knows it will be 7-8 years of schooling but knows she will benefit in the long run. She was throwing out ideas of what she has been thinking of. I was throwing out ideas of logistics. We talked about she and Kendall potentially buying a house to build equity while still in school. She had thought about leaving the state for her schooling and how that could affect Kendall and the life they are building together. We were brainstorming ideas of funding her doctorate degree and she shared the research she has done so far.  We did this all while doing our exercises (my physical therapy) and muscle building. She has made no decisions. But I think things will fall into place as they are suppose...

Today was spent getting ready for the week. I also need to get back into a sort of exercise/ stretching routine since vacation is over. No coffee on the beach today, sad face. My coffee was overlooking the squishy yard and trees with no leaves.  I had a long list of things to do today and picked away at them one by one. All the bags are unpacked, dog bedding washed, adult chore. April is going to be a busy month. The next trip to look forward to, is in May.

Happy Birthday to Sarah!!!! My finger has healed nicely. Kudos to my immune system for vacating the bee venom! The swelling is down and redness has subsided.  I took a nice long hour walk on the beach today with my coffee. There really isn’t any dead fish on the beaches. The ocean life eats it before it makes it to the beach. Here is what I saw this morning that was exciting. I really enjoy finding the big sand dollars, shells, life, unalived animals, sea glass and more on the beach. I have done my total assessment of this island. I would like to come back some day. I enjoyed the small restaurants that offered beach side tables. I liked the location of our rental house, close to the airport, in the middle of the island. I like that every beach felt like a private beach. It wasn’t people-y at all. A great place to go and beach hop. There are a lot of abandoned buildings and abandoned hotels all over. It’s like a resort graveyard. We learned that hurricane Dorian really impacted thei...