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"Anywhere is paradise, it's up to you".
The girls, Martha and Ray & Pat all arrived safe and sound yesterday. I was so happy to see each and everyone of their faces. Dang it I missed my kids...Ava was fighting a cold, and had a sick tummy before their flight, but she's got her sea legs now. Ray & Pat arrived a few hours after us, and all went great with their flights/arrival too! Whew, isn't it great to arrive at your destination not looking like your passport picture.
Unfortunately as I woke on my birthday, I found out Rory is quite ill with the flu Ava had. She's been vomiting since early morning, with a bad headache. Now I'm feeling queasy but perhaps it's the celebration drinks last night of family coming together. She just fell asleep so let's pray to God, Buddha, whomever, that she improves.
OUR VILLA:
WOW. Welcome to McMansion. This is one of the most spectacular homes I think I've ever been in. (If you read my previous blogs you'd know life couldn't get any better unless I was adopted by Oprah. Well friends, maybe I somehow have, because this is an "Oprah-like" house!)
You walk in and
there is a grand foyer, and a den with 20 foot ceilings. Three levels of amazing structure & architecture! The touches and details are specky-tacular.
It has to be around 5000 sq. feet (if I ventured a guess). It is owned by Canadians, and was custom built with accommodations for up to 18 people. Marble throughout, with 5 master bedrooms, 6.5 bathrooms, gourmet kitchen, pool with waterfalls, 2 outdoor bars (one on the roof with bar swings), outdoor fridges, outdoor bathroom & shower, covered large patio with full dining, cushioned loungers, hammocks, grill area, and surrounded by palm trees and lush gardens. There are TVs throughout, Blue Rays, Shaw TV from Canada...Lord I'm out of breath trying to detail all of this. Anyhow, it is luxury with a capital L. I think our master bedroom, with sliding doors to the pool, has got to be the size of our livingroom at home. The king size bed is extremely high, and I almost need a step stool to get in!
The house is decorated with a palm tree theme, and even the little pillows on our bed are in the shape of pineapples. In the bathrooms, there are mini
hammocks that hold the bars of soap! Living in paradise for 2 weeks won't be half bad 😉
The one day everyone arrives, there is a torrential downpour, but it's quite steamy, so a dip in the pool was required. We sat around and got caught up with Ray & Pat and enjoyed some wine, cheese & deli meats we had picked up at Mega. Afterwards, off we went onto 5th avenue to enjoy some nightlife and a drink to bask in being back in Playa.
I was up at 6:00 am listening to the sounds of a tropical paradise, birds singing to me on my birthday 😊 July 4th...how come it comes around so much faster after you hit 30 & gains momentum every year after?
Everyone else is fast asleep in their comfy beds, and given I'm the first one up, I'll be putting the coffee on and putting out some fresh pastries we got at the store on our way in yesterday. God I wish Blaine was here to fry up some bacon! I hate frying bacon! Making breakfast together on holidays is a great chance to chat, joke, whip a towel at someone's
butt. I hope they get up soon, I keep practicing my tea towel snap! I was told not to make breakfast, that it would be made for me, by the girls. So sweet, so appreciated.
I went out to the pool, and it's steamy!! HOLA. I see the sun starting to peek through. YAY. I expect we'll get unpacked, take a walk, hang by the pool and from all the whispering and knowing winks & smiles from last night, I guess there's a birthday celebration in the making. I'm not much on being celebrated, I like to celebrate others, but hey, how lucky am I to be so thought of. 😊
Another birthday...happy to have made it! I think the infamous comedian George Carlin said it best when he said, "Do you realize the only time in our lives when we want to get old is when we are less than 10 years old! Or when you're almost ready to get your license, or get into a bar, then you want to be older!! And those under 10 thinks of age in fractions; i.e. How old are you? "I am four and a half". You don't say that
at 40 - that you are forty and a half (well you might if you're a little half baked).
George Carlin was a fantastic comedian; a social critic with such a sarcastic wit, the likes of which has not been seen since. He reminds me so much of Bill; both gone way before their time.
So as I sit here alone before anyone else wakes, pondering my time on this earth, I feel very blessed. I have wonderful healthy supportive loving parents. A fierce, loyal, loving, kind & supportive sister. Two brothers I love and cherish & wish I could spend more time with... A husband that is true-blue; who gets me. Who also is loyal, loving, tender, romantic and forgiving of my faults (yes, I've got a few but who the heck is counting right?!) Three amazing fantastic children I could not have designed better if I did up blueprints before their birth of qualities I'd wish them to have. They think of me everyday in small sweet gestures, and so far they still think I hung the moon. (So far...)
A best friend in old jar of mustard Martha, who'd go to the moon and
back for me & who has done so, at many curves in the road. I'm grateful to Marth for always having my back. Terrific mother & father in-law that I enjoy spending a vacation with and who are wonderful interactive grandparents. Beautiful smart nieces that I am SO proud of, and who have served as amazing role models for our girls. A circle of close friends, so many that I can't count on two hands, that have seen me through thick and thin, good times and bad, sunshine and rain, sorrow & joy. You know who you are...I'm looking at you now!
Sitting here on July 4th, (while watching a little bird trying to get a sip of water from our pool, dangerously close to falling in) I realize that I have done nothing spectacular, earth shattering, or perhaps made any grave impact in this world. All I know is, that I feel lucky. Lucky to be healthy (hope it continues), lucky to have all that I have mentioned above, very grateful, and yet, sorry for any hurt that I might have caused anyone, and glad to have forgiven and been forgiven. (That door swings both ways). Sheesh sounds
like I'm going to confession!!
Sadly we live in a society that is doing everything to wipe out aging. I look at my mom who has aged so wonderfully & gracefully. I want to be her. I don't want to feel shame or regret that I am getting older. Yes I see the changes from 30 to now; HELLO I have eyes & a mirror. But I don't want negativity to frame my journey into getting older. I'd like to think I can feel this way because I am strong, and still passionate about life, and somewhat secure in who I am, and not only because I have a husband that sees me, the real me, and not the woman he met almost 2 decades ago in all my youthful glow when I was still a 'pup' 😊
We need to embrace getting older (the alternative sucks). I don't want to feel that most of my life is over, but rather, what a journey so far, and that there's so much ahead of me, raising my family, and sharing good times with friends & family. I do not want to be sad about what's in the rear view
mirror and the good times gone by, but rather, what the heck is coming up around the next curve?! And even if I do have some reflective moments today about what this birthday means, I will be in paradise, having fun, and will lift a margarita in toast to this birthday, because this is all we have...the moment we are in right now. And surrounded by some of my loved ones is the best moment(s).
And cheers to George Carlin & Bill; I hope the two of you are sharing a bar stool, making wise cracks, and that both of them realized before they left this earth the impact they had on the lives that they touched.
(PS Blaine, thanks for thinking of sending a birthday card along for me with Martha. I think that is one of the most thoughtful things ever! I haven't opened it yet, I want to savor it, see the envelope and open it when we are having a birthday lunch/dinner today. Wish you were here with us. I love the pants off of you as Cindy would say!)
So I bid you adieu for now, and will get on with my
special little birthday.
Al...where are you? You-who...how about a foot rub by the pool? Aww, he just brought me a coffee. 😊
HOW TO STAY YOUNG (at heart)...
1. Throw out the non-essential numbers. This includes age, weight & height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you "pay" them. 😊 (SMILE)
2. Keep only cheerful friends. (The grouches pull you down).
3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening,whatever. Never let the brain idle. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don't take guilt trips. Take
a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity. (I love all of you, so there!)
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away...
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Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday Sal, sounds like you are having a great day. I waited a long time for you, my first girl. I was overjoyed when I saw my skinny little baby and it was love at first sight and will continue forever and ever. I am truly blessed to have the closeness that I have with my two girls, what more can a mother ask for ask for? Lots of love!! XOXO and thank for the compliment. I really enjoyed this blog. I don't know what you did in the other world, maybe a physiologist but you really got things sorted out. This is so inspiring.