Monday Monday

Since Didier works on Saturday, he usually takes off Sundays and Mondays so we can have two days in a row together.  These two days are like an oasis in the desert for me, which will more than likely make my posts on those days look like Barbados is heaven and we are forever driving around stopping at little places to shop and sipping cocktails at the sea.  We do try to do something new and interesting at least one of the days off, but more than likely we hit our hot spots on the island--Super Centre (the grocery store), Price Smart (kind of like a Bajan Costco but not as much cool and crazy stuff), or Sheraton Centre. 

Today we hit Sheraton Centre (a kind of American style mall but with no anchor stores) for a hair relaxer for me and some ginger candies for Didier from the health food store and then returned home for a late breakfast and to put Virginie down for her nap.  We spent some much needed time together and continued to collect mangoes and make lime juice.  Doctor's advice be damned.  We didn't actually eat any of this stuff, but it is hard to see these things go to waste. 

I have been feeling bad about how little Didier gets to see the girls because of the demands of work, so we agreed to pick up Lily a little early from school, Blossoms Nursery School in Prior Park Terrace, St. James and take her to one of her favorite places for some French fries and chicken fingers.  We do sometimes live here like tourists, but the truth is, we ARE tourists.  Neither of us has been here more than 10 months and everything is still relatively new and exciting.  Even in the worst of times, it feels like an extended vacation and that I will one day return to where I come from and where I belong.  Anyway, I digress. 

Lily asked the other day why Papa wasn't staying in the guesthouse and I answered because he is your papa and my husband and he stays in the house with us.  To which she answered, "But he is a guest because he is always at work."  We didn't come here for this.  No one comes to paradise to deal with the same problems that city living and jockeying for attention and prestige bring.  That chord struck us both very hard and we are both determined to make this time for Lily and Virginie memorable for the right reasons.  We want them to always think fondly of their time living in the Caribbean in a beautiful house with so many opportunities and advantages we might not again be able to provide. 

Mullins Restaurant in St. Peter is definitely for tourists.  They ask when you call to make reservations where you are staying.  When we say we live here they are often surprised that we want to eat there!  The food isn't bad and the ambiance suits our needs at lunch time.  Quick, easy, catering to an American sensibility.  French fries are serviced with a lot here and the local fare is watered down.  Don't get us wrong.  We LOVE the local food we've had so far, but it doesn't sit well with the 3 1/2 year old undereater.

After our late lunch we went for a drive to see the cows again and to take in some views of the sea.  It is certainly daunting to consider that we are out here in the middle of nowhere and yet, the feeling is often the same as when I first moved to Manhattan.  I was in the middle of everything, but until I got my bearings, I thought I was all alone there.  I often feel in Barbados that I am all alone in the middle of nowhere.  I have less contact with my friends and family.  It is certainly hard for others to relate to someone living in paradise missing a two bedroom walk up apartment on the Upper West Side.  It has been hard to make it all work because my heart is still in New York, but the loves of my life are all here.

An early bedtime for all tonight.  I am sure we will be up at the crack tomorrow for the hustle to school and work and back to the grind of running the household for me.  It was paradise today though.

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