I suspect that bloggers have to be honest, to share their journey with many, to write about ones experiences, and let the chips fall where they will. It will only matter to those who are meant to read it.
I find myself once again on the island, Pine island. I moved here in 1996. Then left in 2001, then returned in 2004, then left in 2009, then there were back and forth moves about every 6 months to a year due to external opportunities, disasters, dreams, over the course of the past 4 years. Now this isn't just because I am a snowbird, landing a seasonal rental to getaway from the cold. Although the warmth of this wonderful place is a big draw for sure. No, each time I would return, it would be for good. It would involve a job, a home, possessions, reconnecting with friends, doctor and dental visits, change of residence, license plates- yes, serious commitments. Then the winds would shift, and it would be time to set sail again. Hard to fully explain to anyone who has valued permanence over opportunity, home over adventure, the predictable over the unknown.
I have now left and returned, 7 times, and 7 happens to be my lucky number. Does that mean that I will finally stay here for good ? Who the hell knows.
I have a ritual when I come back to the island. At the intersection of Burnt Store and Pine Island Road, I turn off my radio, and open the car windows, all of them. Moving onto the causeway that connects the island to the cape, ospreys appear soaring in the sky. Bait shops appear, with flats boats parked out in front. Mangroves crowd the road edges, and their scent begins to fill the air. It is a murky, sulfurous, rich smell that will always bring me back.
But what is exciting about this particular time ? Well I have managed to scrape together enough pennies to buy a home here in the southern part of the island , St James City. The miracle of having some very good friends, who love to re-hab homes, offered to take on the labor, which makes the whole dream so much more do able.
I had come with every expectation of subsistence, my Prius packed with essential tools, garden and repair, an air mattress, my favorite knives and pans, a small set of dishes, linens, and a docking station for my tunes. The plan would be to make do and over time, improvements would happen.
The plans have expanded considerably with the energy, enthusiasm, and generosity of Ken and Red.
The bad news came today with the discovery of termites in the floor of the bathroom, which is not good news on the first day of construction, but well, there it is. People who love to own property ( like me) tend to be willing to take the good with the bad, and in the end, it is just good knowing whatever mess you have, well, it is yours. Tomorrow morning I saddle up and meet the pest inspector and Ken to figure how how to kills the bugs and salvage what we can of the floor. I re-checked my bank accounts today and tried some deep breathing and positive thought projection.
But
Since I didn't start with anything profound, maybe I will end with something profound ?
So today I needed to go to the water company to have my water turned on. On Pine Island there is an association that everyone has to join. It allows you to hook up to the water source, which is a "sole source" water supply lying under the island, but surrounded by salt water. An elected board from the membership who make decisions concerning the water quality, the business end or billing and management, and whatever concerns the availability of drinking water for the island residents.
There is one person who has kept records at the water company for as long as I have come and gone from here. She recognized my name if not me. She was sure that she could give me a membership discount as a floating member. Unfortunately she could not find my card, the one she would use in the files. One with only my name on it. There were the 5 properties I owned with my late husband, the 3 that we owned as a corporation. None of them could be used. Thinking back I remembered another that I bought and sold a rental property. Couldn't find that card. What about the first house that I bought 20 years ago with my first husband ? No card attached to the file. The house across the street that I owned with a boyfriend for awhile that went back into my name when we spilt up ? Nope, no card on that either. This nice patient lady who was insisting that all of their records were accurate and up to date. But my cards were not available from useful files. More than that this had become this somewhat awkward walk through the past 20 years here on the island. The places that were my homes. The properties that were an investment portfolio that went bust during the crash when we lost everything. The names of the 3 different men who I had loved and lost or left over these past 20 years. It occurred to me that this woman knew an awful lot about me, and there wasn't much I could do about it. She shuffled through the stack of cards on her desk attached to my past, and picked up the last. We can use this one I think, it was the sale of your house to your brother. I found myself wondering how she knew this was my brother, our having different last names ? Well whatever. We wrote up the paperwork, I made out the check. She sat and smiled at me. She said " I am glad that you can back" and " We like it when people come back, when they want to come back".
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