Emily’s Musings

The internet is LIGHTNING FAST here. An hour T.V. show normally takes 12 to 18 hours to download on Saba. It took a mere 45 minutes WITH “REAL” HIGH SPEED INTERNET.

My skin is so dry now, it’s flaking non-stop.

I’m loosing the “mommy tan” (it’s like a farmers tan, but I’m not a farmer) I gained on Saba. My skin no longer has a “soft glow”, it is has “dingy, flaky, glare.”

Hannah LOVES the Piano. She talks about it ALL THE TIME. So, I purchased a keyboard for her at Walmart, and she couldn’t wait for me to get it out of the box. SHE LOVES IT. And I’m sure Daniel loves the fact that her “sticky little fingers” aren’t leaving a residue on his piano anymore.

An employee at Motherhood Maternity asked me if I was carrying twins, or just a REALLY, REALLY, BIG BOY. Believe it or not, I didn’t tell her off. You can’t save people from their own stupidity, and EVEN AMERICA has REALLY STUPID people that put their feet in their mouths ALL THE TIME.

I bought a belly band to hold my belly up because I can’t stand the weight of this “REALLY, REALLY BIG BOY” I’m carrying. The quality of my life has increased 100%. Also, drinking LOTS and LOTS of Dr. Pepper has helped as well.

Having come from Saba where the island motto is: “On this island of fun in the sun, we don not flush for number one,” I have been accused (ahem, by David) of NOT flushing the toilet. Hey, I look at it like I’m doing Texas a favor by NOT flushing the toilet 100 times a day. There are two pregnant women in this house, so I’m sure the water consumption is at an all time high when you consider all our bathroom breaks.

I started chatting with another young mom at Super Walmart (you know, because I have been there a few times to buy stuff, and walk around, just get overwhelmed with all the choices) and we talked for a REALLY LONG TIME. She told me all about her crazy in-laws and I told her I was sorry because I totally lucked out with mine. We became BFF’s in no time. This is one thing I LOVE about Texas, it’s not weird to strike up conversations with people in the grocery store. Heck, I met my good friend Amy (she did a lot of modeling for my store) this way. We are both too chatty for our own good.

On Saba, it is normal to wave “hello” to everyone you see. You don’t have to know them (although after two years, you know or at least recognize everyone). David and I have both caught ourselves waving “hello” to every car that passes us on the road, and we talk to everyone within five feet of us. All I’m sayin’ is that we are friendly people.

The dogs have been sunbathing out on Daniel and Lydia’s patio. Their lives are virtually the same. Spoiled little pups . . .

read comments (0)

We went to our storage unit the other day. I wish we filmed the event, because let me tell you, it was an exciting event! David, Daniel, and I started searching through our stuff to find some items (like clothing, and shoes) that we needed. Let me just say that we have stuff, and a lot of of it. We saw things in the storage unit that we didn’t remember owning, and we found clothing that neither one of us remembers purchasing. I’m sure everything is ours, we are just amazed at how our memories had faded over the past two and half years. It was like Christmas to see all our stuff. No, it was BETTER than Christmas! Because EVERYTHING we saw was ours, and it was free, and it was all our style, and in the right size. AND THERE WAS SO MUCH MORE THAN WE REMEMBERED. And we both have clothes. Lots of them. That are nice, stylish, and comfortable. We could actually burn all of our worn out, nasty, crappy, Saba clothing, and have plenty to wear. Mmmm, I might just do that . . .

I would like to take a deep breath now and thank myself for buying great clothes. I owe myself BIG TIME for NOT scrimping on purchasing clothing when it came to quantity or quality. And, for purchasing so many shoes, because unfortunately, my shoes are the only thing that fit me right now. David was so thoughtful to point this out to me as I was hyperventilating over the boxes and boxes labeled “Emily’s clothing” I found. Apparently, he wanted me to have a reality check to save some time and have me NOT inspect EVERY article of clothing I own.

But still, on behalf of the clothing abundance, I would like to take a moment of silence.

Hannah thought she hit the shoe jackpot when I opened up a box full of evening wear shoes. “SHOES!”, “SHOES!”, “SHOES!” was all she could say over and over again. She was quite entertained and tried on EVERY pair and walked up and down the corridor of the storage unit in her new high heel “SHOES!”

I would like to point out that I was not the only one excited to see real clothing. David was very excited to see his suits, and ties. Which are like BRAND NEW, since we bought them just before we moved. He was also pleasantly surprised to find that he owns more than 100 pairs of Allen Edmonds shoes, which he LOVES more than any other shoe on the planet. Okay, so he doesn’t own 100 pairs, but he owns quite a few, which makes me happy because we DO NOT NEED TO BUY HIM NEW SHOES. Instead, that money can buy Hannah LOTS of shoes. And really, Hannah gets WAY MORE excited about new shoes than David.

A few days ago, we went to Walmart. I would like to mention that David has not stepped into Walmart, or any other major superstore in over 28 months. To say that his eyes were HUGE when we walked in, would be an understatement. He looked over at the produce section and said, “HOLY COW! Look at all that fruit! And look! There are TONS of bananas and grapes! ON A FRIDAY NIGHT!” Yes, this was VERY exciting to us, to be able to buy whatever we wanted, when we wanted. We had grown so accustomed to only buying groceries on Wednesday morning (that is when the grocery boat comes to Saba), and picking from such a TINY selection.  It was a bit overwhelming to see so much abundance.

It really is great to be back in the land of the free. There are so many choices, it is going to take us a few more days to get used to all the options around us. Take is from me, AMERICA IS WEALTHY. Go live IN ANY OTHER COUNTY (especially a tiny island in the Caribbean) and you will agree.

read comments (1)

We’re in “The Republic of Texas.”  It only took 19 hours to travel from our doorstep on Saba to Daniel and Lydia’s house in Texas, but hey, the whole family made it, including Paris and all her whining.  Hannah was an excellent traveler and only had one melt down on the way.  She was SICK AND TIRED of being buckled into her stroller, and being confined at all times.  SHE JUST WANTED TO GO ON A DANG WALK, and meet new people, and say “hi!” to everyone, and dance, and shake her bum-bum, and ALL of the aforementioned activities are almost impossible to do when you are strapped down in a stroller, with parental supervision.

It was a very stress free day of travel.  What a relief for us!  David and I were both able to get on the same flight leaving Saba, and ALL of our luggage and both dogs were also on the same flight.  THAT ALONE IS A MIRACLE.  The airline that flies in and out of Saba only allows one pet per flight, and luckily for us, they made an exception.  I’d like to think the favors given to us by the staff at the airport were because they liked us, or knew our names, not just our faces, but that probably isn’t the case.  I think it’s because Hannah is a charmer.  She always smiles, waves, and says “take care!” to the employees when we leave that tiny airport, and I think she is the reason they felt so compelled to give us a break.  We weren’t charged for the dogs, or overweight luggage.  I want to go back to Saba just to say, “Thank you” to them one more time, for making our trip that much easier.

Flying from Saba is always complicated in some way.  Fortunately, the winds were favorable enough for the plane to land (they were projected to be unfavorable, making it impossible for us to leave the island) and we were at the Sint Maarten airport at 8:00.  We had a WHOLE LOTTA TIME TO KILL with a toddler, two dogs, and four pieces of luggage.  That’s right, our whole lives fit into FOUR pieces of luggage.  In fact,  we had extra room in the luggage, (which is just a shock really) and I was able to bring home my vegetable steamer.  Which I love, to death.  Honestly, I wasn’t concerned about my blow dryer fitting into the luggage, but the steamer, that was a priority.  I couldn’t live without it before moving to Saba, and leaving Saba was no different.  Initially, I had just planned to leave the steamer and buy another one when we returned to the states, but since there was room in the luggage, I just saved myself some money!  Which could go toward something else I need . . . and I just can’t start naming other things that I “need” because after being on a glorified camping trip for two years, I “NEED” everything!

Being a toddler is BIG WORK and Hannah is happy to show you just how hard it is to hang out in a stroller, saying “hi!” to everyone, and dancing to the Caribbean beat.  Since we had SIX HOURS to kill, she decided to take a little snooze at the airport.

Hannah requires four items to go to sleep.  If one of the items is missing, then the delicate balance is ruined and she JUST CAN’T SLEEP.  She has to have her Pooh Bear, soft tag blanket, her bear blanket (not shown) and her DANG BINKIE.  She HAS to have her binkie to go to sleep.  It is the only time she gets it, and every time she lies down for a nap she says, “BINKIE!” and every time she puts it into her mouth we tell her “You don’t need this DUMB thing!” but then we have to give it to her because we know she will fall asleep within minutes.  And really, this is a battle not worth fighting right now.

Arriving early for our flight made check in a breeze, and American Airlines was so helpful.  They didn’t charge us for the extra piece of luggage we checked, and they took dang good care of our dogs while they were out of our care.

During our LONG wait at the airport, we David took Hannah, and our girls for a walk.  He was the designated walker, and I was the designated spectator photographer, sitting with the luggage, and the kennels.

If you want to know how hot it was, just check out the dogs’ tongues.

When we arrived at DFW airport, we were so excited to see Daniel and 8 1/2 months pregnant Lydia (who professed she would never have kids . . . Ha!  Ha!) I got a second wind of energy.  Our pups were excellent travelers, and I was so relived to have all our luggage, dogs, and family together, in one place.  One piece of luggage went missing in Miami during customs, but it magically showed up on our doorstep this evening. We are very happy to be here, in one piece.

I can’t believe the time has finally come for us to move on from our life on Saba.  I have seen so many friends and students move back to “reality” during our two year stay, and I am so happy our turn has come!  Yesterday was full of bittersweet emotion as we left our house on Saba, but I do look forward to the next chapter in the “Adventures of the Leshers.”  Whenever I think about the beautiful island life we left behind, I have to think, “I can buy grapes, bananas, milk, and ANYTHING I can imagine, ANY DAY of the week.”  That thought alone will keep me going. 

read comments (6)

The time has finally come to leave this island of paradise. Our internet will be turned off shortly, and I will have no communication with the outside world until I land in Dallas. Which will be about midnight, and I will be exhausted from traveling ALL DAY with a toddler, pregnant belly, two dogs, lots of luggage, and an adorable husband. Poor Dave, he is going to have to carry everything because pregnant women are strictly advised NOT TO CARRY/LIFT anything over 40 pounds . . . and I ALWAYS try to follow the rules if it means getting out of manual labor . . .

While we have throughly loved our time on Saba, we are ready to start the next chapter of our lives. We look forward to seeing so many of our friends and family in the upcoming weeks.

David took some great pictures of the moon the other night. The lights you see off in the distance are on the islands of Statia, and St. Kitts. I think this is a great way to sign off . . .

Good night moon . . .

Good night stars, good night air. Good night noises everywhere.

read comments (3)

We snapped a few more pictures of people we’re gonna miss. This guy is Coochie. We know him as the “water guy.” He has come to our rescue more than once to fill up our cistern with water.

This guy holds his age well because I would like to point out that he is in fact a grandpa, to FOUR grandkids.

While he waits for the water hose to fill up our cistern, he kills time by either smoking (as seen here) or doing pull-ups on his truck. He is the “Jackie Chan” of Saba.

This is Frans. He is the mechanic who kept our car running. THANK GOODNESS FOR HIM. Although we have paid him trillions of dollars in mechanic fees, IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH EVEY PENNY. Plus we really like the guy. In fact, he is originally from Holland, then lived in New Zealand, and has such a cute accent. You wouldn’t know if he was telling you off because his accent sounds so NICE.

L-R David, Raymond Hassell, John McCarty, Carl Hassell, Hannah, Joan McCarty, and me (the pregnant one)

We’re going to miss these guys. These are the McCarty’s who live just below us. They are from Connecticut and spend every winter on Saba. They have had a house here for about 30 years. They are so sweet, and Hannah LOVES them. Their house has all kinds of fun things for little fingers to get into, and she LOVES to follow John McCarty around. He is always in and out of the house providing drinks for everyone, and Hannah is all about the action. If you are going somewhere, she will follow you.

read comments (1)

David and I have been packing our things at a very “Caribbean” pace. I have stuff strewn about all over this tiny house, and really, I’m glad we’re leaving in two days because I SIMPLY COULD NOT HANDLE THE MESS ANY LONGER THAN THAT.

I really hate living out of suitcases, and it’s a little bit more difficult to be organized with a child who needs toys (that we’re not taking home, but can’t give up quite yet) and likes to “help me pack and unpack.”

I had to see one of the island doctors today to get a note that says, “Emily is pregnant. She can fly internationally. She is healthy and fine, and WILL NOT DELIVER IN THE SKY.” Well, it didn’t say that exactly, but that is what it basically says. During my chat with the doc, he was surprised to see noted on my chart the last time I was in for a check up was in January. Apparently, I was supposed to see him (or another doc) every month. I didn’t mention to tell him that I thought it was a TOTAL WASTE OF MY TIME to go down to the clinic, wait in the germ filled waiting room for hours, only to be seen by one of the doctors (probably him) to have my blood pressure checked. Since the clinic doesn’t weigh you (I don’t think they have a scale there) and there is no ultrasound machine, what is the point? David monitors my blood pressure weekly (mostly because he is way more interested in that kind of stuff than I am, and when he tells me the numbers, they have absolutely no meaning to me. He could say, you are one over twenty, and I would say, “Is that good or bad?” Because really, that is all I care about. He may as well tell me my blood pressure in French, because I would understand it about the same) and my blood pressure has always been normal. Even when I was pregnant with Hannah and had swollen feet so badly, I had NORMAL BLOOD PRESSURE.

Before I left the clinic, the doc wanted to check my belly and listen to the heartbeat on a Doppler. As he was pressing my belly in all the uncomfortable places, (trust me, this little guy was ticked, so he kicked him. HARD.) he thought he would mention this to me:

“There is more belly than baby.”

EXCUSE ME? DID I JUST HEAR HIM CORRECTLY?

So I asked him if he was calling me fat.

“Well, I just say it how it is. I am Dutch.”

Well, I hate to break it to you Mr. Dutch doctor, but you NEVER, EVER tell a woman she is fat. ESPECIALLY WHEN SHE IS PREGNANT. Or nursing. Or just big all around. NEVER, EVER, EVER, go to America to practice, because you would never have any patients.

It felt good to say that. And I didn’t even have “telling off remorse” because how could I feel wrong about telling my doc to not call me fat? He felt a little guilty I presume, because when David entered the room (he was out with Hannah running some errands, and popped in for the last part of the visit) he told him what had happened. David tried to pick his jaw up off the floor when the doc recounted our conversation, and all David could say was “Holy Cow! You said that?” And then, David was really thinking, “YOU IDIOT! HOW COULD YOU NOT KNOW THAT YOU DON’T SPEAK TO WOMEN THAT WAY? Because if I were to say that (or heck, even think that) my wife would make my life miserable FOREVER. FOREVER, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!”

So Dutch or not, you do not have a “pass” to tell me what you think about my body or belly size.

Thank goodness the next doctor I have will be in the states.

read comments (6)

The “never ending blanket project” is finally done. It has been TWO years in the making, and this morning, I finished it. When I was pregnant with Hannah, my sister Jenn thought I should make her baby blanket. You know, something to do with my time as I lazily hung out on the patio, watching the ships go by. She sent all the yarn and crochet needles to me on Saba. There was only one teeny tiny small detail that I had to figure out on my own . . . I need to learn how to crochet. Thankfully, there was wife of a student that knew, and after a ten minute lesson, I was on my own.

This is the first and only blanket I have crocheted. Measuring at 6′ X 5′, I made it is entirely too large for a baby, so it’s now a little kid blanket. Hannah still needs to “grow into it.”

I would like to point out that it didn’t take an entire two years to complete this thing. You see, I kind of forgot about it. Since it was far from being done when Hannah was born, it was put in the back of a closet . . . lost in the black abyss. I rediscovered it in January when I was cleaning out my house and decided to finish it before leaving Saba.

I have to thank the writers guild for ENDING THE STUPID STRIKE, and American Idol, because if there was nothing on TV from 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM, I would never turn on the TV, and this blanket would still be unfinished. If I didn’t have something to entertain me while I crocheted and my husband studied, well, I would be BORED TO SLEEP. And really, I can fall asleep very easily, anytime, anywhere, during any hour in the evening.

read comments (0)

Remember how I said we are ready to leave Saba? This is why:

This nasty, ugly, scaly snake was on our patio yesterday morning. EATING THIS POOR GECKO. GROSS! is all I have to say. Okay, I said a little more than that when I saw this cruel thing happening. Hannah was quite intrigued with the snake, but I assure you, I whisked her away while David (who obviously has no fear of snakes, or anything for that matter) snapped some pictures.

This little gecko dude has no hope now. His poor little feet sticking out of the snakes mouth is just GROSS.

Now that the snake had successfully eaten his breakfast, he needed to be disposed of. While there are no poisonous snakes on Saba, I still didn’t want this thing close to me, or Hannah, or my dogs, or my stuff for that matter. David (who again, doesn’t have a fear of nasty creatures) picked him up with a BBQ fork and CHUCKED him off the patio. FAR AWAY.

read comments (1)

Really, David and I are ready leave Saba. Last night, we had one last dinner party on our patio with some of our friends. I would have taken pictures, or hey, even A PICTURE, if I wasn’t busy hosting. The hostess has a “very busy and important” job to make sure everyone has drinks (at all times you know), appetizers, main course, and seats. But, most importantly, the hostess is the “designated conversation starter.” Now, I am not not usually at a loss for words (ever, really), but trying to balance all that and keep a good eye on my little busy-body, Hannah, was BIG WORK. I would have called on David for assistance (because lets face it, those of you who know him, know that he can hold his own when it comes to talking), but he was relegated to the grill all night making everyone delicious burgers, and that left the running around to me.

Hannah had a great time. Her little friends came over (you see, because her friends are based on our friends), and they all ran around the patio. A LOT. ALL EVENING. In fact, we even let Hannah stay up till 8:00 PM, which has never happened in the history of her life. She was so busy playing, she didn’t have time to ask to go “night, night.”

Every great party that includes toddlers playing past their bed time, is inevitably going to have an accident. Hannah took the “hit” and fell down while playing on a patio chair. She isn’t a crier, so when she wailed out in pain, we knew it was bad. It took a few minutes to get her to calm down, and when she did, she pointed out where her “bonk” was. Magically, before our eyes, an ugly soft goose egg appeared and as I turned my head to gasp (I could NEVER be a doctor), Hannah said, “Bonk, OWE!” Over and over.

Nothing says a party is over like a toddler accident, so everyone decided to head home. I would have taken a picture of Hannah’s head to show off her first big “bonk”, but I felt like such an awful mother, how could I document that? Then I would always remember what it looked like. And really, I love to look at her perfect forehead, that doesn’t have a big, ugly, bruise on it.

So, I lied, I did get one photo of Hannah and her friends playing on the Lov Sac in her room. This photo was “pre-bonk” of course:

Hannah’s friends: (L-R) Deya, Josh, Hannah, Keyoske

And just for your reading enjoyment, I am going to point out the curtains in the background. Remember how I said I could NEVER photograph the inside of my Uglified House because you all might think this island living has done something to my judgment since I don’t think they’re that bad? Yeah, I know, I’m embarrassed for me too. These are the exact curtains that made me throw up a little bit in my mouth when I first saw them two years ago.

read comments (1)

We’re DONE. Let me rephrase that, DONE, DONE, DONE with Saba. In fact, we couldn’t stay and live on the island for a few more months even if we wanted to. Something about qualifying for a temporary residency permit or something . . . you know, most countries (minus Mexico) have a problem with foreigners staying without proper documentation . . .

David took a wicked eight hour exam yesterday. The golden ticket off this island is a passing score on that test . . . which THANKFULLY HE GOT! After the grueling exam, there was a “Basic Science Recognition Ceremony” (not to be confused with a graduation ceremony) for completing five semesters of medical school school hell. The ceremony is really just a formality to recognize everyone, and a few students get up and babble about nothing (much like the Grammys) which is mostly a waste of time. If it weren’t for the lady in front of me, who was technically impaired and asked for my help to demonstrate how to use her digital camera, I would have been BORED OUT OF MY BRAINS.

The food and entertainment following the ceremony was “Saba Style” which means: a random array of food, and a local band playing shakers, steel drums, guitars and a banjo.

Here are some highlights:

You may not be able to tell in this photo, but we are EXTREMELY HAPPY. David is COMPLETELY done with the basic science portion of med school, and that means the island is kicking us off. Forever. We can only come back to visit.

This is our next door neighbor Shannon. Hannah affectionately refers to her as “SHAN!” (yes, in all caps, every time she says her name) She also survived five semesters here. As I write this, she is on her way back home to San Francisco. Shannon will secretly kill me for saying this, but since this is my blog, I have to say something; Shannon is famous. Maybe not “People Magazine” famous, but famous as in a Professional Ballerina. She danced with American Ballet Theater for years before starting med school. People followed her career and stuff. She danced all over the world, and then BAM! She ended up on “Planet Saba” like us. See, we’re not the only interesting people on this island. We are going to miss her terribly. Hannah has already gone out to the patio and yelled “SHAN!!!” a few times today. I’ll let David break the news to Hannah that she’s gone. He’s better at that stuff than me.

This was the entertainment for the evening. The speakers worked VERY WELL AND NOBODY COULD CARRY ON A CONVERSATION.

Okay, this photo might seem random, but I specifically took this photo for one reason: To share this “unique outfit” with all of you. This is the island Doc. He has been on Saba for like a century now, but still has a very strong Scottish accent. He spoke briefly at the recognition ceremony and all I could concentrate on was his outfit. He kept my attention is all I’m going to say.

We officially have nothing on our agenda for the next 10 days except swim, sleep, hang out, and swim some more. Depending on my ambition, we might also do some hiking. But, that would require a lot of ambition, and hey . . . we’re in the Caribbean.

read comments (3)