Tuesday, December 31, 2019

The last morning of the month, of the year, of the decade.

Peace.

Monday, December 30, 2019 Time for reflection

As the year and the decade draw to a close, 'tis the season for reflection.

I love finding reflections almost as much as I like finding waves crashing over rocks.

Sunday, December 29, 2019

The clouds this time of year are so amazing! Christmas Eve after the hurricane I was driving to be with our friends Carole and Rolf and I saw this:

I thought, "We may not have electricity or Christmas lights. But we have this!"

Friday, December 27, 2019

Elaine, Maggie, Annie, and Ben

We had an amazing wonderful Christmas Day - visiting hospitals!

First, we took Christmas dinner - turkey done Puerto Rican style, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and home-made cranberry sauce - for Ben and his sisters Annie and Maggie. Ben was in a great mood and ate more than I've seen him eat in months!

Then we went to the Veteran's Hospital to see our friend Chris and his wife Isabel.

Both visits were fun with lots of laughter and joy and love - just what Christmas Day should have.

Boxing Day (yesterday) was quiet, cool and rainy all day so we really didn't do much. I planned a day-after-Christmas scuba dive but the rains washed that out. I know, I'm going to get wet anyway so what difference does a little rain make? Actually, diving in the rain is kinda fun. It's fun to roll over and watch the raindrops hit the water from underneath. In this case though, it was enough rain to mess up visibility.

Today was pretty quiet too. That's not all bad.

Wednesday, December 25, 2019 Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays - whatever holidays you celebrate! May this season and the coming new year be full of joy, love, and wonder for you and yours.

It's a quiet Christmas morning here. Ranch chores with dogs and horses this morning, then we're off to San Juan and the hospital to take Christmas dinner to Ben and his sisters Annie and Maggie.

It has been an odd Christmas season for me. I've felt very disconnected from just about everything. Since August, so much has been focused on Ben and his needs and treatments. While I'm incredibly grateful his sisters are here for him and taking over much of the care, I fell a little displaced. There has been so little time and energy for other people and activities. I'm not blaming it all on Ben situation. Part of my disconnect is a product of our new lives away from Ola Lola's. People I used to see regularly I don't see or talk to hardly at all. Others have left the island completely. It's hard and I'm struggling with it.

Enough of that. It is a season of joy and celebration! Let's celebrate and be grateful for all the goodness we have.

Thanks for reading this. I will try to be more regular with my posts.

Saturday, December 7, 2019

December dawn

Mornings have been clear and comfortably cool. I love getting to the beach early to see what Mother Nature gives us to start the day.

Friday, December 6, 2019

On a golden beach. Sunrise on Baño de la Princessa, one of the beaches Coda and I walk a lot.

Elaine, Carole, and I went snorkeling yesterday. We did see lots of fish but visibility is still pretty bad. So, no pictures.

Medical updates: Ben is back in the hospital. His cancer is spreading and not responding to treatment the way his doctors and medical team hoped. They are "starting over" running all new scans, tests, and getting new biopsies, literally looking at everything. From this should come a new, more aggressive treatment protocol.

Our friend Chris is out of ICU. He has started physical therapy and is standing for short periods. His mind is ready to get out of the hospital and start moving on. Unfortunately, his body isn't quite there yet. Horses of Hope/Caballos de Esperanza, Elaine's therapeutic riding center, just got a grant for a year of equine-assisted therapy for Chris. At the same time, he will be paid as a consultant to help develop and improve the therapy so we can better serve other people - especially veterans - with disabilities.

Waiting now for the latest set of waves to subside so we can get back in the water.

Monday, December 2, 2019

Reflection. It's that time of year. Thanksgiving - a time to reflect on just how fortunate we are, how much we have to be grateful for. I am grateful we have at least one day set aside to be grateful. I try to be live with gratitude every day, not just one day a year

"Gratitude is an attitude. Gratitude is a choice. And gratitude is a habit."

"Gratitude is perhaps the most important key to finding success and happiness in the modern day. Knowing what we appreciate in life means knowing who we are, what matters to us and what makes each day worthwhile."

My list of people and "things" I am grateful for is huge - and ever-expanding. I put "things" in quotes because, with a few exceptions, what I am grateful for is not things, not stuff. People, beings, attitudes, intentions, actions are way more important than things.

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by people you love and care about. Take a moment now and be grateful for that.

Sunday, December 1, 2019

Hello, December.

Good-bye, hurricane season!