Beaten, Battered, and Bitten on the Outer Banks

Since arriving on the Outer Banks On April 30th I have been enjoying fun-filled days and nights:

• I had severe allergic reaction to the pollen dust, resulting in a sore throat that morphed into a full blown sinus infection.
• My friends all insisted that the weather was warm so I arrived with only short sleeved shirts and did not bring a jacket. I question what they think of as “warm.” The temperature every other day has dipped into the fifties and I ended up sick from the cold (yes, I am now officially a Florida wuss – I finally borrowed a jacket for the remainder of my stay).
• I’ve spent days cleaning up the landscaping at my house, which has been closed up for five months. My back and knees ache from raking mountains of leaves, clearing poison ivy, and carting the pine limbs that littered the yard.
• I am sunburned from lying out on my deck during the few sunny days we’ve had since i arrived (believe it or not, when I am in Florida, I rarely sunbathe because I am always too busy working).
• But the final straw came this afternoon when I was lying in the sun on my deck. I reached down to scratch behind my knee and felt an alarming lump. Gawd! A tick!! Just what I need. I suffered with Lyme disease for five years before they finally diagnosed me. That’s all I need. Hopefully I got to it in time. The ticks have to feed on you for a couple of days to do any real damage and I don’t think it was there yesterday.

I will miss my house when it sells. I have loved living here. It is a magical piece of property where herds of deer stroll through the yard serenely grazing on grass while screeching Osprey soar overhead with wriggling fish in their talons, searching out high pine limbs from which they can enjoy their meal in peace. I will miss the exquisite sunsets that turn the skies golden, then orange, then blood red, leaving the Loblolly Pines silhouetted in black against the fading light. I will miss the rich, saturated greens of the spring leaves as the sun rises in the morning and the incredible views of the moon and stars from my rear deck, which is far enough away from the town lights for the Milky Way to display prominently.

If I could snap my fingers and magically transport my house to a private lot somewhere in Florida I would do so without hesitation. But of course, I cannot, and it is time to move on. I know not what the Universe has in store for me, but I am excited to find out. I want my life to be simple. I am continuing to write and am quite close to finishing the first draft of my book, “Hole In The Donut. ” I am also doing some freelance writing for various magazines. And I plan to take my Yoga teacher training. Other than that, I am open to the world of possibilities that lie before me. And I am filled with gratitude.