Arrival in Paradise

View from the room

Tonight I write to you as I watch the sunset over the ocean and listen to the waves break gently on the shore. Birds in palm trees sing their nightly taps and a light ocean vesper soothes the warm air. I spent the day sea kayaking, snorkeling, and reading in a hammock. It sounds a lot like heaven but I’m actually in Tulum, Mexico, a small coastal town on the Caribbean Sea. Kevin’s brother Michael decided to ring in his new decade (the big three-oh) by taking a vacation with his close friends and family. So here we are, in a 12-person villa, eating family-style dinners filled with stories, banter, and laughter on a long reclaimed-wood table on a patio overlooking the ocean made by our personal chef. Our planned adventures for the week include deep-sea fishing and a visit to the Mayan ruins, but who knows what else the week may bring. I am perfectly content to press repeat on today.

Mikey in all his birthday glory

At breakfast, three of Michael’s friends showed up in Mexican-flag Speedos and proceeded to present him with his own pair. It started the day off with a good dose of laughter and light heartedness. We had made-to-order eggs (huevos ranchos, huevos con jamon, huevos con queso . . .), orange juice, toast, granola and yogurt, and a huge platter of fresh watermelon, pineapple, papaya, and cantaloupe. Afterward, Kevin and I read books on the beach and jumped in the pool. Then we kayaked with the group to the coral reef not more than 100 meters offshore. I swam with schools of neon fish and wove around the dancing coral. Nancy (Kevin’s mom) and I used the paddle boat to come in for a lunch of shrimp tacos with mounds of fresh guacamole and pico de gallo with the whole group. Kevin made delicious margaritas that we drank before an afternoon siesta on the beach.

Paradise does wonders for the human spirit.

CBD

A Campbell Christmas

The last of the Campbell clan hit the road on Friday morning and Kevin and I enjoyed putting our feet up and relaxing a bit this weekend. Our first couple months in Florida flew by as we scrambled to unpack and finish home projects before the crew came for the holidays. Hosting the holidays for the first time was a milestone for Kevin and I, and in our true style we jumped into the task head first by hosting eight guests, getting a 9'4" tree that had just enough room for our angel, and decorating the house with all the trimmings. It appears we've become real adults, even if we still feel like kids at heart.

The full house added to the holiday feel of family, cheer, and warmth. We also found out how challenging it can be to wrangle a crew of ten with a 70-year age span to do the many activities we had planned: beach, deep-sea fishing, turtle museum, Christmas dinner, New Year's Eve party, Universal Studios, Hard Rock Casino, the Breakers... needless to say, punctuality was next to impossible. Kidding aside, the packed schedule really got us all together exploring our new state. It was a lot of fun showing them around but so was the down time: hanging around playing games, cooking, and watching movies. It was a special and memorable holiday in our new tropical home (the closest we got to snow were my glass snowmen on the dining room table).

Happy Birthday Mama :)

I really enjoyed establishing new holiday traditions, but I do still get sad about what it would be like if my mom was still here. We used to always bake pies and cookies, shop for gifts, go to church and open one present on Christmas Eve... Yesterday would have been my mom's 64th birthday, so I bought some bright yellow flowers to plant in her honor since she loved to garden. I'm also starting to plan the wedding and I think about how nice it would be to talk to her about everything (even though we'd inevitably fight about a few things, ha). It's all very sad and hard to comprehend that she's gone.

All for now.

CBD