I am home, and what a wonderful trip it was! Cancun, Mexico has gorgeous beaches and the weather was perfect, the temperature hanging out in the mid eighties. (Fehrenheit) So much easier slipping on a bathing suit and cover up than back at home with jeans, shirts, sweaters, coats, scarfs, and gloves.

My daughter Jano asked me on our last evening together what was my favorite thing about our vacation. The answer was easy: spending time with six of the numerous human treasures that are in my life: Beth, Chaise, Cason, Karys, Jano, and Andrew. Karys, my granddaughter, and I roomed together. That alone was so much fun! If you have never spent a few days with a happy-go-lucky nine year young girl, I highly recommend it. Your joy level will increase ten times as much as it was. And as an added bonus your ability to live in the moment will become almost effortless. Karys possesses a high energy, and fortunately I do, too. As she said, “Marmie, it’s time for the Argentina Sisters to have fun together again!” And we did!

The beach was covered in a soft, tan colored sand. Tall palm trees, some of them loaded with coconuts way up high at the top of their branches, dotted our outdoor, sandy playground and provided us some shade. The ocean itself was a colorful palette of blues and greens. We could easily wade out into a man made lagoon, the water clear enough to see the ocean floor. The water temperature was rather cold. Cold enough that every day I had to talk myself into immersing myself totally down into that very salty substance. Brisk! But oh! So delightful once my body acclimated to the coolness of it.

We did all sorts of activities. Karys became an amazing event coordinator, filling our days with kayaks and paddle boards, swimming in the pool and drinking fruity drinks at the pool bar. She and Cason, my grandson, would lie back in the hammocks between two palm trees and I would push them side to side while they told stories of pirates and treasures, cannons and sharks. I was so proud of their imaginations. When they were younger I told the stories, now they tell me the stories! Karys tracked the times for Yoga and Zumba on the beach and we never missed a morning. Yoga by the ocean with crashing waves all around you is amazing Yoga. And that Latin/Rumba music for Zumba just thrums through your veins. There is no way I could not dance to that! And add a few palm trees, the warm sand under the soles of your feet, and the sunshine on your bare back…well, you can feel it, right?

We watched an iguana travel across the beach, his grey, scaly body with short, powerful legs sashaying over the sand. It’s difficult to describe the gait of an iguana. The best I can say is his feet and legs move back and forth across the sand, like a skater, spraying sand particles everywhere. Every now and then he would stop and lift his head, perhaps sniffing the salty air. We learned the songs of a few different birds, too. Opening the Merlin App each day we recorded their calls, hearing the Great Tailed Grackle and his shrill whistle sounding like a lifeguard on the beach. We also heard the melodious singing of the Social Flycatcher and the Kingbird.

Karys always asks me how my fictional novel is progressing that I am currently writing. She is adamant about her name being in my book, which I plan to do. I told her about my book proposal with my manuscript, CAN YOU UNDERSTAND ME?, and how I vision book signings and talking to other people about their own journey with an illness called cancer. That beautiful Girl immediately stepped up as my event planner once again, her imagination on full throttle. No problem. Before you knew it we were under the palm trees with stacks of books piled on a table with a gorgeous vase of tropical flowers as a centerpiece, lots of ice water for her Marmie to drink, and little stuffies of puppies and cats to give out to any children that would attend my book signings with their parents. That girl can vision with the best of them, let me assure you! We can all learn from children how to go after our dreams!

I am so grateful for a wonderful time creating precious memories in Cancun, Mexico. It has taken me a few days to get back in the groove of my life. What I call vacationitis. But I am back and life is Good! You know, blue skies and all that stuff, sunshine, and moving on to the next great adventure, music and Life, and Love and laughter thrumming through my veins! Excellente!

c   Love, Joan