Five years…….
It’s hard to believe that we have been living in the
Dominican Republic for five years. Five years ago today Ross and I were sitting in a hotel room with Jack, Shelby and all our worldly possessions. Where
has the time gone? The days seem to run
into each other with a constant flurry of activity.
I’ve been reading back on some of my old blogs and can’t
help but laugh at some of the things we have experienced. Watching the “locals” doing things we just
can’t contemplate as being wise or safe.
We thought we were seasoned – boy were we “green”!
We’ve experienced tropical storms, hurricanes, earthquakes
and have decided wholeheartedly that these are events that not only should not
be taken lightly, but we really don’t want to go through them on a regular
basis.
We’ve made some amazing friends, made a few enemies, lost
good friends whose health just gave up.
We have laughed and cried (well maybe more crying by me than Ross). We’ve had our hearts broken a few times too.
We’ve missed family gatherings, and lost contact with a few
family members for reasons we can’t begin to understand – but, we still think
of them often with a variety of emotions.
We can only control our thoughts and actions and not those of others.
People often ask us “what is it like to live where you are
living?” Well, it is sometimes a daily
challenge but isn’t life a challenge wherever you live? What makes living in Canada right compared to
anywhere else in the world? Life is what
you make it – so make the best of what you have and make each moment count.
Living life in the DR is sometimes like living in the Wild
West. Lawlessness sometimes is the
lesson of the day. Petty crime and
sometimes not so petty crime abounds around the world and it is not different
here. One of our biggest challenges is
trying to figure out the concept of guilty until proven innocent.
Weather was a big factor in deciding where Ross should spend
his retirement years. Who can complain
about warm temperatures 365 days a year?
No snow although I must admit I do miss fall and early winter. The aches and pains are not nearly as
exaggerated as they are by cold temperatures but as we age, they are there.
One of the funniest questions I think we were asked was “so,
what to you guys eat?” Keep in mind,
this came from someone who had never been to the DR. My initial response wanted to be “bugs and
grubs”. Well, to live in this country,
you must love chicken! Fast food and
convenience foods are not practical so you are forced to make a lot of
“homemade” things. You eat healthier. We cook healthier as almost everything here
is not fed antibiotics or sprayed with toxic fertilizers.
We’ve added to our dog family – thanks to a dear friend who
lost his battle way too early in life introduced us to the love of Belgium
Malinois. We have a pack of amazing, intelligent
dogs who keep our lives interesting to say the least.
The end of the first five years brings many emotions. Where do we go from here? Well, I would say to the beach but for anyone
following my blogs, the beach isn’t always a good idea when you take dogs with
you! We will just keep on the path we
are following and enjoy each day as a gift.
