Honeymoon

Obviously, we're not talking about and ACTUAL honeymoon.  That ship sailed 11 years ago.

I'm talking about that time when everything is new and you see things with blinders.

That's where people think are in the middle of here, although I feel like it is, but it isn't.

I knew coming here, it would be different.  It's a different culture, different mentality, different climate, different language.  Pretty much different everything.

I miss a few things.  I miss family and some very dear friends from New Jersey.  I [slightly] miss snow, but it is only when I burn my feet on the hot sand on the beach.

We are incredibly blessed to be here.  There are so many things that are not like I like them, but I just have to brush them off.  Most of the time, I say out loud, "welcome to Puerto Rico", meaning, that is how it is done here and I need to be okay with it.  And it helps me calm the anxiety or stress or frustration.

I really don't want to let that frustration stop me from enjoying my time here.  So many people miss what this island can offer because they're so mad about something that doesn't matter in the big scheme of things. I don't want to be that way.   I know it has it's quirks.  There's a lot that drive me crazy.  But, it is like that anywhere that isn't your culture.  It happened to us in New Jersey after we moved from the South.  It just is exacerbated by the fact that Spanish is the primary language and has so much slang (even my husband, who is fluent with experience in three different dialects [Argentinian, Mexican, and Castellano], is having trouble with it).

The more I am here, our family is here, I know that this is preparation for the next step in our lives.  I feel it to the depth of my soul.  We are here for a purpose.  We are here for, I'm sure, a whole host of reasons.  We have to learn, to grow, to change, to love, and to help.

I am so grateful for the other women, my friends, with the same mindset.  It is so impressive how much they enjoy and love.  There are a lot that don't.

I want to leave here, when our time is up, in tears.  That sounds weird, but I do because it means I hurt because I chose to love those here deeply, with my whole heart.