It has been a long time since I've written anything here and would take me so long to catch up. So I guess I'll just start and as I think of things I'll write about them. Hmmm though I'll start with Everardo going fishing right before I left...yeah we had a freezer full of fish! Yum!
Ok then a picture of me after I bought myself a tye-dye dress in purple....yeah, then went back and bought it in red as well. (they were cheap cheap). This was in Key West.
There's a really weird thing about Key West- they have iguanas all over the place! They're not indigenous to Florida so they have no natural enemies so they just keep multiplying! When we lived in southern western Mexico- in the tropics we saw iguanas, and it was natural for them to be there. But in Key West I once saw 10 iguanas at one time! Not all as big as the one in this picture, but he was one of the 10. Every other day I walked from my sister's houseboat to this park to do my zumba dancing and I walked past this water and big lawn, and every time I'd see all these iguanas sunning themselves. There was also a fire hydrant that was leaking and I saw them stand under it, and wait for each other to move so the next one could stand under it.
We took a road trip from Key West Florida, which is the furthest island out from Florida- the most westerly "key"-all the way up to Upstate New York. I come from California, a very long state. We took about 3 and a half days to get there and one day we drove thru 5 states! I took pictures of state signs as we crossed state lines. The sign was all there was- and in Calif you have to stop and answer questions...tell them you have no fruit...
This is my sister whom I love so much and her doggy, Emmy. Emmy is the cutest little dog, and when I got home my dog Sam looked huge! And Hazel looked pretty big too ha ha.
Ok- so I went to Florida to see my sister for 2 weeks because my brother in law was really sick and in the hospital. Actually my little sister was already out there- when she heard how sick Barry was, she dropped everything and flew out there. I was lucky- I went out there in September when they were in Upstate New York to see him because I was afraid I'd never see him again, so I hung out with both of them. Well unfortunately he declined much more quickly than anyone thought he would- I mean they were planning to close up the houseboat and go back to NY, but it didn't happen. So little sister was there and I was talking to them every day...and it seemed like maybe he was improving and going to come home- and then not so much. Then he stopped being interested in eating- that was kinda of a clue for us. Little sister extended her stay another week and I bought a plane ticket to go. I went the first week of May, planning to stay 2 weeks. Little sister went home about 4 days after I arrived, and a few days after that we brought Barry home. He was immediately calmer when he got home, but he didn't improve. A week later he passed away. Everyone has lost someone and maybe at this moment you are remembering your own family member or close friend so I won't talk about all the emotion.
I will say this. It was spiritual. We had an incredible gift, a woman friend of Karen's who came to see Barry every day he was back home, and saw us as well one on one. She is a healer. She spent time with Barry. She also does shiatsu massage and is a bit of a medium. She talked to me about my spiritual path, she talked to me about my spirit guides- it so amazingly cool. She did the same for my sister. She was able to give my sister some peace by letting her know that Barry was ok. He didn't believe that there's anything after you die. For me- I believe in energy. We are made up of energy, everything is. I believe that when we die, yes as we know ourselves, we're gone, the body is gone. But energy does not die. It changes. So I believe at death, our energy simply changes...into what? I don't know. And I feel ok that I don't know. But this woman said she could feel Barry right after he died. That he was happily surprised there was more. That he said " I feel like myself again" At first he was hanging around, like watching my sister I guess, but later..he had his own path to follow. What was it? I don't know. Does he remember life as we know it? I don't know. But I know he's ok. And my sister is ok. Her friend gave her great peace. There were so many more details about this that made it...real I guess. I mean maybe reading it you think I'm nuts. But it felt right. Barry was so sick for so long. For a couple of years he deteriorated...physically and then it began to be mentally as well. He was suffering. Yeah- it was sad to lose him. He was young- 72...but he was not himself. And my sister knew that, too. Of course she is sad, she lost her partner, her love, her best friend of 40 years...but she also watched him suffer. So she's ok.
So- a couple of weeks later we drove her up to Upstate New York to their house up there. Yeah I didn't stay just 2 weeks. I was gone for a month. My husband was so great about it. I mean Barry died and I couldn't just leave. Everardo said- stay, do whatever you need to do. So I helped her close up her houseboat and we took off. And closing up a houseboat in the sub tropics is no easy task.
Karen had to paint where some work had been done to fix some places that had leaks. The day before we left she had to pump the bilge. I only knew this meant you had to go to the bathroom ha ha. Now I know why! Anyway it was a dirty job. Then we had to set up humidifiers to run 24/7 while she's gone- which is all summer! Then we had to take all the bedding and any clothes she wasn't taking and run them thru the dryer- then as soon as we took them out we had to put them in these big plastic bags and duct tape them closed. Otherwise they'll be moldy when she gets back.
She did all this the week after her husband died. She just kept moving. Then we packed up the car and Emmy and headed north. Oh wait- the day after he passed, we had a wake with all their friends from the dock. It was really nice. And it was a celebration of his life, a happy time. We put all these pictures of Barry from years past around the boat on all the window sills. Most of the people there never knew the Barry who took 600 mile bike rides and sailed all over the world. So we drank and ate and reminisced. It was nice. Then we got to work and a week later we left.
We drove all day from Tuesday afternoon until noon on Friday and then we were there. We listened to a book on tape which I had never done before. We sang to the radio and talked about a million things. It was so cool to get to know my sister who married her husband while I was still a teenager living at home. So I never really knew her as just herself. We found out we feel the same about so many things...and we're so different in so many ways as well. Thank god for Emmy. Her first dog since she left home. And we all know we treat our dogs like our kids, right? She never had any kids, always just came and got a dose of ours ha ha, and so Emmy is closest thing. Emmy keeps her on her toes, and she cuddles really nice. She is a loving soft girly dog, and so small she can go everywhere. I had a talk with her and she'll take good care of my sister. The same as my sister's friends. She is really lucky with the friends she has. In both places- Key West and New York. Really good friends who love her and will support her whatever she needs. So little sister flew back in 2 days before I left, and she stayed 2 more weeks. So she got the one on one time as well.
So this is the beginning of my story of where I've been since the end of April. Lots more to tell, like how there's no cauliflower for sale here right now, but how all the neighbors are stopping by to look at Everardo's garden & I steam fresh veggies every nite with my dinner. Oh and last thing- proud of myself...I came back and hadn't put any weight back on. And Karen and I hit a few ice cream stores...ha ha- but I kept up my dancing every where I went. Ha ha in Key West, dancing alone in a park I never got a second glance- yeah it's a funky place full of weirdos so I fit right in. And in NY we were pretty isolated, but a few people noticed that crazy lady dancing in the early morning in a beautiful green meadow that is my sister's amazing yard. Ok that's all for now. I will try really hard to get caught up and tell you about my beautiful Mexico which I am so happy to be back home in! Viva!
I will say this. It was spiritual. We had an incredible gift, a woman friend of Karen's who came to see Barry every day he was back home, and saw us as well one on one. She is a healer. She spent time with Barry. She also does shiatsu massage and is a bit of a medium. She talked to me about my spiritual path, she talked to me about my spirit guides- it so amazingly cool. She did the same for my sister. She was able to give my sister some peace by letting her know that Barry was ok. He didn't believe that there's anything after you die. For me- I believe in energy. We are made up of energy, everything is. I believe that when we die, yes as we know ourselves, we're gone, the body is gone. But energy does not die. It changes. So I believe at death, our energy simply changes...into what? I don't know. And I feel ok that I don't know. But this woman said she could feel Barry right after he died. That he was happily surprised there was more. That he said " I feel like myself again" At first he was hanging around, like watching my sister I guess, but later..he had his own path to follow. What was it? I don't know. Does he remember life as we know it? I don't know. But I know he's ok. And my sister is ok. Her friend gave her great peace. There were so many more details about this that made it...real I guess. I mean maybe reading it you think I'm nuts. But it felt right. Barry was so sick for so long. For a couple of years he deteriorated...physically and then it began to be mentally as well. He was suffering. Yeah- it was sad to lose him. He was young- 72...but he was not himself. And my sister knew that, too. Of course she is sad, she lost her partner, her love, her best friend of 40 years...but she also watched him suffer. So she's ok.
So- a couple of weeks later we drove her up to Upstate New York to their house up there. Yeah I didn't stay just 2 weeks. I was gone for a month. My husband was so great about it. I mean Barry died and I couldn't just leave. Everardo said- stay, do whatever you need to do. So I helped her close up her houseboat and we took off. And closing up a houseboat in the sub tropics is no easy task.
She did all this the week after her husband died. She just kept moving. Then we packed up the car and Emmy and headed north. Oh wait- the day after he passed, we had a wake with all their friends from the dock. It was really nice. And it was a celebration of his life, a happy time. We put all these pictures of Barry from years past around the boat on all the window sills. Most of the people there never knew the Barry who took 600 mile bike rides and sailed all over the world. So we drank and ate and reminisced. It was nice. Then we got to work and a week later we left.
We drove all day from Tuesday afternoon until noon on Friday and then we were there. We listened to a book on tape which I had never done before. We sang to the radio and talked about a million things. It was so cool to get to know my sister who married her husband while I was still a teenager living at home. So I never really knew her as just herself. We found out we feel the same about so many things...and we're so different in so many ways as well. Thank god for Emmy. Her first dog since she left home. And we all know we treat our dogs like our kids, right? She never had any kids, always just came and got a dose of ours ha ha, and so Emmy is closest thing. Emmy keeps her on her toes, and she cuddles really nice. She is a loving soft girly dog, and so small she can go everywhere. I had a talk with her and she'll take good care of my sister. The same as my sister's friends. She is really lucky with the friends she has. In both places- Key West and New York. Really good friends who love her and will support her whatever she needs. So little sister flew back in 2 days before I left, and she stayed 2 more weeks. So she got the one on one time as well.
So this is the beginning of my story of where I've been since the end of April. Lots more to tell, like how there's no cauliflower for sale here right now, but how all the neighbors are stopping by to look at Everardo's garden & I steam fresh veggies every nite with my dinner. Oh and last thing- proud of myself...I came back and hadn't put any weight back on. And Karen and I hit a few ice cream stores...ha ha- but I kept up my dancing every where I went. Ha ha in Key West, dancing alone in a park I never got a second glance- yeah it's a funky place full of weirdos so I fit right in. And in NY we were pretty isolated, but a few people noticed that crazy lady dancing in the early morning in a beautiful green meadow that is my sister's amazing yard. Ok that's all for now. I will try really hard to get caught up and tell you about my beautiful Mexico which I am so happy to be back home in! Viva!
