What’s happening…

Amanda writes: The drive down to Mexico from Canada took much less time than I thought it would. That was mostly because Andrew and his Grandfather (Alan) were determined to get there as quickly as possible. I was looking forward to an adventure road trip but I was informed early in the trip that was not going to happen. I still tried to take some of the sights in as best I could although it was hard. It was different from what we had been doing for the last two months. I’ve been accustomed to us being curious about everything around us and celebrating the arrival of a town, or tourist sign or really anything. We’ve never ridden past an information centre or point of interest and in the car we weren’t even acknowledging the arrival of a new State. The change in travelling mindset threw me off balance a bit. Throw three people in a car for 3400 kilometres over four days for double digit hours each day and you’re bound to have a bit of tension. In any event we made it safely and visited a few places in the USA that I had never been before.

We arrived at our Casita and it’s great. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms and very spacious. It’s walking, running and cycling distance to the beach which is a big bonus. We’ve been here almost a week and it’s been a bit challenging but I’m confident it will get better. Mostly it’s a bit hard with everyone trying to get accustomed to living together and figuring out your tendencies and preferences. The worst part is Andrew is stuck in the middle because he’s the connection. He is my husband and Alan’s Grandson. Andrew is such an incredibly generous and honest man and most importantly kind. And while those features serve me well as his wife, sometimes I can just see his efforts draining him. I need to work harder and figuring out how I can be more supportive and less part of the problem.

So as our first week is almost under our belt I’m confident it will be smoother sailing as we get more settled. In the first week we have managed to get two bikes, set up our Spanish teacher, scheduled our kite surfing lessons, buy some pickle ball rackets and get a feel for the area. We’ve been to the beach almost everyday, we run in the mornings every second day and I’ve even managed to practice yoga once. I’m so happy that Andrew is running with me. It’s something we did together when we first met and I love it. I’m pleased with our efforts of remaining active and look forward to getting into a schedule.

Andrew writes: Now that we are here it is such an exciting time! We have spent the last week starting to get organized here. My grandpa says that we should start taking “lazy” pills because Amanda and I are still always, “go, go , go!”. In the week we have been here, I have arranged for kiteboarding lessons for Amanda and I through a local watersports company, gone running, a lot of household shopping, started Spanish-language lessons, bought some pickle-ball paddles, and yesterday I went to a nearby flea market and bought bicycles for us to use here in San Carlos.

Caring for an elder, particularly one of your own flesh and blood is different than I thought. I like to think that my grandfather still has a lot of autonomy in him. Yet somehow I find myself always jumping up to do something for him. It will be a careful balance I think, because it must be important to his dignity for him to be able to do whatever he feels capable. At the end of the day, I just want my grumpy-gus gramps to just be happy.

I want the same for Amanda, yet we are still trying to find that balance also. Right now there is a language barrier for us, and I seem to have been a little bit quicker on the uptake in learning Spanish. It feels like Amanda is leaning on me a lot, and this just adds stress. Fortunately, we are spending a lot of time being active. Since we both love it so much, it is way to unwind. I’m really looking forward to spending more time in the water once my kiteboarding lessons get to that point.

The Week in Photographs