Enjoying Paradise

While out on the water, my thinking is clear and I have all these great ideas occur to me, most of which I forget by bedtime, or even when I pull up on the shoreline.  Here is something that came to me in the silence of ‘up the creek’ that stuck around in my head:

My neighbor, my very first friend here at Presley’s; someone who I became closest to outside of my own family, moved recently to a house on Dauphin Island.  (I am still recovering from the feeling of devastation.)   She always has lots of super nice outdoorsy gear.  It made me a little sad for her that she lived here at Presleys and only occasionally took part in the activities that make this place heaven on earth.  She has a few really cool bikes, but she only occasionally went bike riding.  She has really nice kayaks, but only kayaked occasionally.  She was the person who turned me on to paddle boarding, but my paddle board that I got two months ago has seen more water than hers ever has in the year that she had it.   She is always very busy and goes lots of places and does lots of things, but it seemed to me she didn’t take time to enjoy the perks of living here in Paradise.  I hope she takes the time to enjoy the perks of living on Dauphin Island. I know I miss her very much here.

My thought that occurred to me when I was out on the water was that I have been too busy and have not been enjoying the perks of living here in Paradise.  Last Tuesday, while hurrying back from Archie’s music lesson in Biloxi to catch the very end of Lawrence’s baseball game, I got a speeding ticket.  The really irritating part was that I got the ticket juuust as I was about to turn into the ballpark driveway.  The State Trooper held me up for an eternity.  And I only caught a half inning before the game ended.   And now, I have something else on my plate—to juggle my time to go downtown and pay my ticket.  Settling my business with kids or without kids.  That is the question. 

I have been hurrying around too much.  I cannot be everywhere and I have been over-scheduled.  I have taken zero naps in my hammock on these perfect 70 degree temps lately.  I have not been ‘on patrol’ in my golf cart, telling stories with my neighbors for ages. 

Some of the activities we have going on are dragging me down.  I yell at the kids to ‘hurry up and get ready’ so we won’t be late, and then I speed to get there.  Really, if it is like pulling teeth for them to get ready to go, then maybe we shouldn’t be doing said activity.  So I dropped out of one activity (which made me feel instant relief).  One activity ended, and one will be ending after the beginning of December. 

I typically get out on the water (weather permitting) every “at home” day.  I know that living in Paradise is a fragile thing.  Anything can happen and circumstances could change without any notice or planning.  I love living here and have absolutely no plans to return to sticks n bricks.  But the fact is that this isn’t my land.  I am borrowing it.  So in the event we have to leave Paradise, I want to know that I took the time to fully enjoy being here; that I have no regrets.  I want to get the most out of my time, and continue to enjoy my community.  I want to remember that when I had a lake, river and creek as my yard, I always took the time to sit in my kayak or paddle on my board, even if it was only for thirty minutes at a time.  I am never as happy driving away from Paradise as I am driving toward it.  When I make the curve in the road and see the lake and the campers and the trees, I feel relieved to be home again.  Yes, my indoor space is small, and we get in each other’s way at times.  We can’t have as many ‘things’ as other people because we just don’t have the space to put it.  But it is my own little slice of Paradise here on earth and I need to be more mindful of that and take the time to enjoy it.