Thursday, December 2, 2021

Back to the water


We'll be traveling this month for the first time in two years. In a couple of weeks or so, we'll arrive at this place. 

 
And stay in a garden cottage that looks something like this.

 
And sleep in a romantic mahogany bed like that one.

 
And possibly reserve one of those shoreline cabanas, lounging inside gauzy curtains and listening to the sea murmur beneath us. 


Then, come evening, we'll take in sunsets that set the senses aflame with color, which I think will be the capstone on a very fine plan. 

I have some trepidation, of course. I booked this stay for us back in June, when the world was newly hopeful that the pandemic might be on the wane, and hotels were enticing visitors to return by offering ridiculous deals to the vaccinated. I longed to once again dip my toes in the Caribbean, and feel the sand give softly under my feet. My cousin who lives in Virginia proposed the trip, convincing us to join a small group of people who want to recognize all the birthdays and joyous occasions we couldn't gather to celebrate during the previous year. Once there, she explained, we can choose to do activities be with the group or go off by ourselves, the best of both worlds. But then Covid surged again, this time calling itself Delta, vaccinations stalled, Omicron showed up, sounding like a new Marvel character, positivity rates climbed everywhere, some borders closed down, and travel was once again deemed ill advised. 

"We're still going," my husband whispered to me in the dark one night. "We'll wear our masks and be safe, but we're going." If you knew my husband, you'd know he isn't usually declarative like this except to heed the full desire of his heart and mind. I believe his Caribbean soul misses the sea as much as mine. And so we'll get our negative Covid tests and board that plane, and walk in the water once more.


25 comments:

  1. YES!!! I love that you are going and you two will just fine, Your spirits will be nourished as is so needed. Your holiday is as essential as food! I am so excited!!

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    1. Linda, our spirits will be nourished, yes. We need to begin doing things again, see how they go. Thank you for being excited for us. It feels like a good wish.

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  2. Oh, Darlin'! I couldn't like that more if I'd planned it myself. The cottage! The cabanas! Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! Go! This makes me so happy.

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    1. Darlin' Mary, I'll let you know how it goes and maybe this can be in your future too! xo

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  3. It will be good to walk into the waters again and relax in the sun and warmth of the Caribbean. You will take all the precautions that will keep you safe, and then you will be there.

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    1. robin, I'm not going to pretend I'm not nervous, strangely not for myself; it's my husband I want to stay well. i think i might still have ptsd from that time when he was so ill. but we are going! and we will endeavor to be safe!

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  4. The beloved ocean! I'll be there with you and your family in spirit.

    Your husband's reassuring words are reminding me that before the vaccinations, so many of us remained safe from COVID by wearing masks and doing all in our power to avoid being infected or infecting others. We went on with our lives that way.

    Given that COVID may well be with us for a long long time, we can go on with our lives doing just what your husband said, "We'll wear our masks and be safe, but we're going."

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    1. am, i really needed to be reminded of this, that we all managed to stay safe before vaccines, and so we can do the same with an additional layer of protection as we continue living our lives. Thank you.

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  5. Oh, this is glorious stuff. Yes, make sure you have your booster shots too.

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    1. Mage, welcome here! Lovely to have you around the fire. And we do both have our booster shots, got them in October, so we should be good to go, thank you.

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  6. Oh, yes, definitely go. That looks like paradise on earth.

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    1. Melissa, doesn't it, though? I'm swooning thinking about it.

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  7. Paradise is near! Until then, hold that thought. I'm happy for you.

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    1. Susan, good advice, trying to hold only happy thoughts, to let them crowd out the anxious ones, to live in sweet anticipation.

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  8. How wonderful! Looking forward to seeing some photos when you are there.The ones here have already cheered me up as I look out onto a grey, rainy morning.

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    1. Frances, I will take lots of photos, I promise, and you may regret wanting to see them before I am done posting, haha.

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  9. Gosh, that sure is lovely! You will be careful and you will stay safe. How nice it will be to rest and relax in such beauty!

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    1. Ellen, I imagine such beauty will recharge my quarantined soul, it will be good to be out in the blue water again.

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  10. I'm glad you're not canceling your plans. What a beautiful place!

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    1. Steve, I take a page out of your book, the way you plan frequent getaways together. This may become our new act, too. We were talking about it this morning, how staying in place for so long with covid lockdowns made us want to travel more. Stay tuned.

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  11. Absolutely go. Covid is here, it's not going away. Time to get on with life, just take the best precautions you can. Go have a fabulous time.

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    1. ellen, you're so right, we will all have to learn to live with covid the best way we know how, and to enjoy our lives in the process.

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  12. How did I miss this post? Wonderful! Except I may be just a little/lot envious.

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