Monday morning, woke up said my prayers no scriptures, I can't figure out how to read them on my phone--I like the books better--I like to mark them and return to read dates I have entered and remember what was happening in my life--I don't think you can do that on a phone--besides when Eric's dad passed away all the kids wanted his scriptures--so call me old fashioned but I'm stickin to the hard covers--ha ha--maybe a good excuse this time to not read on vacation--I thought I would be able to do it on my phone but after an hour I gave up--
Eric and I went to breakfast, there is no doubt in my life I will be going on a crash diet when I get home, I have not eaten this much in 3 years. I'm trying to eat all the fresh fruit possible, but it also has some after effects on my body. I've decided there is most definitely a reason Tahitians are such large people--they eat, and they eat a lot.
Today we have no plans, got our swim suits on knowing we would be in water at some point, we then went to the activities center where we decided our activities for the day. The beach we wanted to go to is called Coco Beach and we soon found out it is closed today. So as Eric does what he does best, walking around talking to everyone, in whatever language he could, I sat in a lounge chair, hat on, listening to music and enjoying the scenery. Soon Eric came back and said, "Monya come with me, hurry fast" my 1st thought was "oh boy, I'm in trouble when he is this excited it is usually something to scare me" I am scared to death of sharks, and snakes--good news there are no snakes on Tahiti Islands. He had signed me up with a trainer to swim with a dolphin--seriously? No WAY--I met with the trainer, and felt much better, it was a controlled environment, and these dolphins were raised in captivity, the only deciding factor for me was that I could see through the crystal clear water and knew exactly what would be swimming around me. I was very proud of myself, and I could see the smile on Eric's face as I entered the water with a dolphin, a real live dolphin, I played with him, touched him, swam with him and even kissed him--it was incredible--I overcame a very big fear today.
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| Huge step in life for me---I never thought I had the courage |
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| Isn't he cute? |
Later we went to dinner at a small place called Snacks Mahala, I had fresh Maui Maui-I was not really impressed it was a little mushy for me. Eric had fresh tuna with coconut milk & rice a traditional Tahitian meal, he said it was good, but honestly I don't think Eric would ever say if it was bad. I did get a little sunburned today and I got a text from Dr. PK, he wanted to tell me in person, but didn't want to wait for someone else to tell me either--(Heather did) he got a couple of offers to work in North Carolina, he is leaving November 1st, my heart is broken, I will miss him, he will always be a part of my life, and I know he is doing what is best for his little family. I couldn't help but think about what a huge influence he has been in my life helping not only get through my treatments with the Villain but in other ways I can never explain. We will be forever friends no matter where he lives, he has a great family, we will just have to visit him and his family. I hope Heather goes with him, she needs a new start in her life, new surroundings, and maybe her true love is waiting for her.
Tonight when we got back to our bungalow to watch the sun go down, we were able to face time the kids and Eric's brother Kurt who served his mission in Tahiti. It was fun sharing some of his memories, I've always had a special love for Kurt, he and his mom had a special bond.
Tuesday Day 6
Woke up to the beautiful sunrise and mesmerizing blue ocean, said my prayers, no scriptures but tried to read a little bit of the Miracle of Forgiveness online--still a chore for me. Throughout the day, I pondered on the beauty of this place, how blessed I am to be here, not only because I work for the Airlines and it allows us to do these fun things together, but also to be alive, to be sharing memories my children will take with them when I am gone--this is why I write my journal and blog my thoughts--for them and my grand-kids and hopefully their grand kids.
Well today is going to be one that will go down in history--Eric signed us up for a boat ride to see the stingrays, I've done it once before with my children, didn't like it then and am not happy about it today. I know how much Eric loves the water and the sea life so we went, I wanted him to have a great experience. I only like ocean water if I can see the bottom, I like to see what is lurking around my feet. Our tour guide today is Siki, he was born and raised here on this Island, he looks and talks like he is from Jamaica, we thoroughly enjoyed him and his humor. On this tour we had about 20 people on the boat, Siki was so good about explaining the history of the Island. When we arrived at the stingrays, I think Eric forgot to tell me there would also be sharks swimming around, NO WAY am I getting in that water--Eric was one of the 1st to get in, I took a ton of pictures and he was having so much fun, but my heart was pounding because I knew he was going to encourage me with the help of Siki to enter the water and enjoy the moment--sure enough--they urged me inch my inch into the water--he took me by the hand, I was in shark infested waters--me, the one who swore "if I don't get in the ocean I won't get eaten" my entire body was in shock, I seriously thought I was going to have a heart attack. I wondered why I didn't get warned to bring some Xanex, I have had to train my mind over the past couple of years to tune out the bad and focus on the good, in every situation.
THE BAD--sharks swimming & surrounding me, we are not talking about a few there were 100's
THE GOOD- I'm doing it, and I'm alive
I got pretty comfortable with the stingrays, I rubbed a piece of fish on its nose and it would just follow gracefully through the water following me, but being a mother I wanted to kiss him and rub his neck at the same time--FACT--they have no neck, their mouth is where my finger went and he sucked it hard, I screamed out loud, it hurt-it was my fault but it was enough for me, I got back in the boat. We all got back in the boat and went to a private beach where Siki taught us how to make ceviche, grilled maui maui, grilled chicken, rice, pineapple and coconut. It was another great day of exploration, and breaking through some fears.
Tonight Eric shared something with me, he said his mother was like me, afraid of the water, she too always waited to see the bottom. I smiled, I loved this that he shared with me, if there is any woman in the world I would gladly have anything in common with it would be Viola Williams--I love her.
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| Me and the stingray--who sucked my finger |
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| black tip sharks everywhere--supposedly not dangerous |
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| Me and Siki--he was proud of me |
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| Last Sunset in Moorea |
Today we have to be gone from our bungalow by 4, I miss my children and grandchildren so much. This morning Eric and I took a kayak out to where the sharks and stingrays were, he wanted to get one more look. It was a peaceful ride both in harmony with our ores as we synchronized them to make sure we were heading in the right direction, at one point we got caught on some coral and Eric had to get out of the Kayak and lift us out to help us get going in the right direction. As I thought about that later, it is so much like life, sometimes even our marriage we have gotten off the path we are supposed to be on both wanting the same goal but both getting there in a different direction, the Lord lifts us and helps us to get back on track, so many times HE has helped me get back on track, if there is one sure thing I know, it is that Heavenly Father loves each and everyone of his children, it brings great sorrow to him to see his children struggle. We sometimes forget the straight and narrow way can never be done without the help of the spirit constantly in our lives. There have been times I have felt "Oh I really blew it this time, all my chances of getting back on track are gone, I need more patience, I need to be more kind, compassionate and just a little more like HIM" I am so grateful we have chances to change, even the best of people make mistakes and need a hand or prayer to help get them back on the straight and narrow way--I pray I can be that person for someone I love, as I have felt it in my life from others who have lifted me up and comforted me even when they knew I was not where I needed to be spiritually in my life.
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