Happy March!

 A month has gone by. Every year I come down here it's different. There are always new people, new projects, the unexpected. For a small, slow place it's kinetic. Always shifting and readjusting itself as if it was wiggling in an uncomfortable chair. Businesses close, properties sell, people come and go. Lots of "Hey, what happened to _______?" when I first come. We spend the month adjusting too, relearning our life here. We have the familiar and unchanging things  like the friends we've made here, the events we are a part of that become a life. We aren't visitors anymore, but we aren't residents. This isn't HOME.

What doesn't change is this 4 week milestone. It's around this time I feel I've had enough. This is when I miss my family, miss the conveniences of the States, miss my car, miss my "real" life. This is when the day by day heat , mosquitoes, the same weather, the smallness, start to become work and aggravation. I get tired of doing so little, thinking of nothing, and the feelings of needing to accomplish something and move on become prevalent.

In particular I'd like some cold air, air that's fresh and doesn't smell of rotting vegetation and dust. I'd like it to rain all day, I want to hear thunder. I'd like to see snow, I'd like to wear a sweatshirt. I'd like to go to a movie, sit in Barnes & Noble. I want to read magazines! I want to hear news. I want to make decisions. Oh... and be able to go to one grocery store and get what I want and not pay $8.00 for a box of cereal. I'd like to bake cookies. I'd like to stand under a hot shower and let the water just flow over me. I'd like my skin to stop itching, I'd like my hair to not be frizzy on the bottom and flat on top. I want to wear it down. 

The seasons are changing here. The rains have stopped, leaves are falling from the trees to conserve their energy. Any substantial rain won't come until May then again when Hurricane Season starts June-October. Many people take off , restaurants close. The sun is stronger, the temps have risen. Tourist season is nearing its end.

When I get back north there will be aspects of STJ I'll miss. Being here teaches you patience and acceptance. It's good to be calm. No amount of getting annoyed will make things happen quicker or better, or make the thing you want materialize when you want it, if it materializes at all. It's good to live simpler and do with less, it's good to go without. It's good to be polite and greet people with "Hello, how are you?" before getting to business. There are lessons to be learned from an island life. 

So where am I going with this? Just an observation in time, of that nagging 4 week "had enough?" voice. Just stopping to smell the roses. 

Desert Roses

 You CAN have too much of a good thing. STJ is a great place to visit.... but you know how the saying goes.