SUNDAY IN A YAAD IN JAMAICA pt 1

I decided to begin a blog because after bending the ears of my Family, Friends, former coworkers, for years with my stories about my travel to Jamaica, and the eventual retirement to Jamaica, I thought it only fair, to share some parts of my new life.

I hope you enjoy my musings.

Eventually once I get the hang of it I will begin adding pictures. This is a beautiful place and I want to share all aspects of it.

Much Love to all
Orbra aka doctoro



Sunday 8/29/10
1 PM

I have been bribed, coerced, begged, now convinced, that tea as an early morning ritual, is not only a healthy one, but it is also one that helps your body, and your mental state of mind. No formal research, but now a personal preference. I grew up on ice cold Lipton Tea, which was always a treat, but now I enjoy a wide variety of teas, however I found that bush tea, straight from the trees, or ground are the best.

I have a friend who lives in a likkle gingerbread house at the foot of the Cockpit Mountains who invited us over for her Birthday, we went for a few days and ended up staying two weeks. Her yard is filled with such delights as lime trees, sour sop, orange, mango,search me heart, leaf of life, pears, etc. Now when I look at trees and plants, I see the fruit and the leaves, but when my people see these things in addition to the sweet bounty of fruit they also see the joy and the medicinal treats from the leaves from these trees.

I only this year realised that to most Jamaicans tea is any hot beverage and their tea rituals rival any that the Brits could ever perform. Tea sweetened with the honey that only a Jamaican bee can produce, or sweet cream, or Betty's sweet condensed cream or the granulated brown sugar that only comes from this place, nothing rivals it. And to think before coming here the only time I had hot tea was in a toddy with lemon for a cold. I am no longer in Missouri, and  I'm Loving  the many new tastes, and experiences I am having.

OK so today is Sunday and I began my day with a cup of sweet Peppermint tea sweetened with Jamaican honey from a friends own yard, sitting on my veranda, life can't get any better than this. I am reflecting again on what has brought me to this place, fifteen years ago I started dreaming about a move from the place that I had grown up in, lived in, and would possibly  die in, and decided, NO!!! so I started researching places in the West Indies to lay my head. I started with the A's and actually visited many Islands, but  Jamaica always called me back. So I decided why not? I dreamed a plan, made a plan, worked a plan, now I'm living a dream.

It has been an educational time even having lived life for 55 plus years, but also amazing, happy, scary, adventurous, but most times it can just get plain old bewildering. There are days I wake up and ask myself what the -------am I  doing, but most days I wake up,  have my tea and say "thank you God for my eyes, and this opportunity to complete finally a dream of many years in the making".

So many say this is their dream,  I say go for it, but I caution,  Plan, plan, save money, plan some more and then save  more money, Jamaica is not what it seems, but that is because we look through it with love, longing, and rose colored glasses. I made a plan but had no idea what I was getting myself in to. But on this Sunday I am grateful God gave me this day, in time.

There have been so many like this, that no matter what it entails, what sacrifices I have to make, I plan to do it no regrets.

Regrets, Sadness that one day my children will have resentment for my selfishness, my grandson will resent that Grandmother was gone for the teen years of his life, Lisa understands this thirst of mine, my son Will in theory understands but in the total scheme of things has always wished I could be more like the stay at home kind of mom as most of his friends, but he will even reminisce about the many times we went on magic carpet rides when they were children. And my grandson asks when you come home grandmother will we go on another adventure. My son is still reluctant to allow my baby to come and visit so its up to me to make the trek home every now and then. And take him on our own wild carpet rides, down roads in US that give him a sense of and a love for travel, a gift that my Mom gave to me.

I am thinking all of these thoughts as I sit and listen to the rain falling, the sounds of dinner being prepared, the music coming softly from my home. Today began with sunshine so after tea and then breakfast of callaloo cooked with sweet pepper, scallions and onions, tomato and thyme, steamed fish, fried dumplings, and plantains, all that was purchased that morning from the vendors who are always in my neighborhood, on their way to town to sell there wares. Only in Jamaica can  I purchase a many of the things I need without leaving my yard. The fish guys, the callalo man, the CD and DVD man, the vegetable man on Tuesday and Fridays, the ladies with pillows, bras, socks, the shoe man, you name it, it walks by my door.

Before retirement and for 57 years of my life it was constant getting ready for school, work, taking care of my children, helping to take care of my parents as they got older, just doing what a responsible ADULT does. I sit here this morning in all of my glory, warts and all and I thank God, my Mama and Dad, My Aunt Orbra (she gave me her name) my Kids for giving me the heart and spirit, to spread my wings and fly. Orbra

---

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
Mark Twain