Hey Friends!
How is everyone out there doing? We are still kickin' in Cayman with no Covid, so it's been pretty good. Our borders remain closed to tourists, and although family and residents are able to fly into Cayman, the strict 2-week quarantine is still mandated. We continue to live "free" with no restrictions since our very firm lockdown last year, and our vaccine rollout is moving along at a swift pace. The latest statistics indicate that we are the top 6 vaccinated country to date. I've received both of my Pfizer vaccines and feel so grateful, especially after hearing about the situation in Canada - people are desperate for the vaccine but unable to get it! I'm feeling frustrated, as I desperately want my family and friends to receive the vaccine ASAP...so I can't imagine how disgruntled you must feel if you are waiting for this vaccine.
Although I'm missing my family and friends something fierce, and feeling a touch of "rock fever," I know how privileged we are to be here. I've been looking at all the social media posts from Canada this week and feeling so bad for all of you enduring a pandemic in -50 degrees celsius. In my mind, that is like the worst form of torture. I've been showing my students some of the videos circulating - videos of boiling water freezing mid-air, wet pants freezing solid in seconds, and crispy frozen hair. My kids' minds are absolutely blown. Most of the students, (who wear jackets when the temperature dips below 80), wish that they could experience that type of cold, but one kid in particular asked, "Ms, can you die from cold?" When I replied that yes you can, he replied, "Then why would anyone live there?" Touche.
My beautiful Baba turned 93 years old last weekend! Can you believe that? 93! Think of everything that she has witnessed in this world in 93 years. I'm really missing Baba and my 90 year old Grandma these days. Covid robbed us of our annual summer visit, and I'm feeling a sense of urgency to be reunited with these wonderful ladies.
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| My Baba - she always has beautiful flowers! |
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| Grandma got Vaccine #2! Yay, Grandma! |
My Aunty took a video of my Baba on her birthday and asked Baba to share some wisdom with all of the grandchildren. Baba talked about how happy it makes her to see her family all together, laughing and teasing each other. She feels like that is her greatest accomplishment - creating this large and close family who love and care about each other so much. I must say, Baba passed along her wicked sense of humour, and that is apparent when my aunties, uncles, and cousins are reunited at family events. I really miss the witty banter and belly laughs that result when we all get together. My Aunty also asked Baba about any regrets in life. I thought Baba might say that she regrets not traveling more or perhaps she regrets not spending enough time with someone in particular...but Baba's response surprised us all! Now I won't give away her secrets, but I will tell you that it's something somewhat regrettable that all of us have done at some point in our lives...Hint: have you ever misread a very important symbol on a door when you have urgent "business," and perhaps see something that you didn't fully expect to see? Embarrassing, yes! But the fact that this is Baba's greatest regret had me and my cousins in stitches!
Funny enough, a few hours after hearing Baba's "regrets" story, Ev and I were witnesses to someone else's very embarrassing and likely regretful experience.
Ev and I don't typically celebrate Valentine's Day, but it's been A YEAR and I'm down to celebrate anything and everything these days. We booked ourselves on a sunset sail across the North Sound to a great restaurant at Rum Point for a lovely three course meal.
As soon as we boarded our catamaran, it was apparent that there were only 3 other couples taking the trip with us (How things change with no tourists). We pretty much had the entire boat (and crew) to ourselves! Evan immediately recognized a man who was on the boat with his blonde girlfriend. Evan recognized him because he was a police officer who had issued Ev with a 300CI speeding ticket about a year ago!
We had a beautiful sunset sail to Rum Point. The breeze was strong so the sails were hoisted. Ev and I laid out on the nets and sipped our rum punches while enjoying the sounds of Bob Marley and the wind whipping through through the sail. Pure heaven!
When we arrived on shore we were escorted to our tables overlooking the ocean and immediately ordered our drinks. We noticed that the police officer and his girlfriend had been seated behind us.
Just as Ev's glass of wine was delivered to his table, Ev left to use the restroom. The police officer, seated behind us, just happened to head to the washroom at the same time.
I sat quietly in my chair, sipping my bubbles and listening to the waves lap on shore when suddenly I looked up - like a slow motion video, I watched as the police officer casually pulled out Evan's chair and sat down across from me in Evan's seat.
I cringed as he placed Evan's napkin onto his lap. Just as he was about to take a sip of Ev's red wine, he glanced up and made eye contact with me.
His eyes widened in sheer and utter panic upon realizing that he had sat down with the wrong blonde. Tossing Ev's napkin back onto the table, he quickly stood up and muttered some type of unintelligible apology while I burst into laughter.
"You're welcome to join us!" I laughed as he awkwardly raced back to his table.
Another couple seated beside us erupted into a fit of giggles and commented, "Don't worry, your secret is safe with us!"
When Ev returned from the washroom I explained what had happened and we laughed about it all night. I humorously texted my friends the story, theorizing that Evan and I might just be swingers now? Haha!
I wonder if the Police Officer will someday tell his grandchildren that this was his greatest regret in life?!
Cheers to living life with no minor regrets!
