Hi Friends!
We are trudging along here in Cayman. Covid is alive and well, and typically around 50-100 people are testing positive on a daily basis; however, the government went ahead with the planned border opening, and our borders are now "open" to travelers. I use "open" loosely, as there are still challenging hoops to jump through in order to actually receive approval to land here. As a tourist, you can't just hop on a plane, show your passport, and head to the beach. There is pre-approval paperwork, proof of vaccine, a negative PCR prior to arrival, and then multiple covid tests during your time in Cayman. So...tourists are trickling in...kinda like a sloooow drip. In fact, we've created a fun new game during happy hour called, "Spot the tourist," and it was quite exciting to see an older gentleman donning calf-height white socks with a tropical-themed shirt last Friday! Welcome back!
Despite many of our friends and/or their children testing positive for Covid, Ev and I have managed to dodge the virus (I feel like I shouldn't declare this, as surely now the 'vid will find us!) We found ourselves alone at happy hour on a few occasions, awaiting the release of our buds (sounds like a prison sentence!) We were both able to get our boosters, so I'm hopeful that my vaccine is doing it's job, and I can continue to remain healthy...ish.
Yes, there's an "ish." I haven't been feeling well now for the past 2 months, as one of knees is back in asshole-mode, yet again. I will spare you all the details because I can hear you all saying, "Again?" You are probably just as tired of hearing about my knees as I am being responsible for these damn appendages. I do require another knee surgery in Philly at the end of December (lucky #13!), and I'm feeling pretty...I don't know..defeated? I'm over it. I am in quite a bit of pain these days, so I am relieved that the surgery is happening quite quickly. I need to feel better. I'm really struggling to work full days and maintain any facade of joy and excitement over an accurate production of a /k/ sound. Being in constant pain is terrible for your mental health, and as vain as this may sound, the deterioration of my appearance is really bothering me. I feel like I've aged 5 years in the last 2 months. When I look at my reflection in the mirror, I see a sick, tired, sallow-skinned, vacant-eyed, aging woman. It makes me feel sad. This is NOT who I am! Like I said, I'm OVER IT!
On a positive note, I did something super cool over the past few months. I taught a course to second year Education students at the University College of the Cayman Islands (UCCI). When I was approached to run the class: Methods of Inclusion and Collaboration, I was initially reluctant and kinda scared shitless. I was approached on a Friday and the class began the following Tuesday. I think that the lack of time to fret and consider all disastrous outcomes was in my favor, and I'm so happy that I decided to it. It was an incredible experience!
I ended up re-writing the course material - I think teaching someone else's material can be difficult, and I wanted to include our updated Code of Practice in the session. My class was comprised of 9 second year Education students, mostly in their late teens and early 20's. They were eager, attentive, interactive, and just an incredible group of humans to work with. The course ran during the early evenings on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It was time-consuming, as I spent many hours preparing for lectures in addition to fulfilling my full-time hours as a Speech Pathologist with the schools, but it was an incredibly rewarding experience! Unfortunately we had to move to remote learning during the last 3 weeks of the course due to Covid, and that learning curve was STEEEEP. I had 24 hours to figure out how to run Microsoft Teams (hate it!) and deploy exams online on a program called "Blackboard." I totally understand how my grandparents felt the first time someone showed them internet. It was all blowing my mind (not in a good way), and I was paranoid that tech issues would prevent me from delivering lectures and administering exams. In the end, it all worked out with a few minor glitches (can you picture a laid up Kirstie, ice on knee whilst laying in bed, realizing that not only is the final exam not visible to the students 2 minutes into exam-writing time, but that the entire course has disappeared from the platform!! OMG). Overall, teaching this course really elevated my spirits and made me feel like "me" again during a challenging time.
In other news, Biloxi, the Most Interesting Cat in the World, celebrated his 20th birthday last week! It's not everyday that a cat turns 20, so in typical Kirstie fashion, I had to throw a pun-filled pawty for him. I wanted to plan something fun for my island "nieces," and also provide an opportunity for the parents of the nieces (ha!) to drink champagne, so obviously we threw a birthday brunch! While Ev prepared his famous panakouken (dutch crepes filled with anything and everything), I had the kiddos decorate Biloxi's new "Catty Shack," and shower Biloxi with pawesome gifts that would make any cat jealous. One of my buds jokingly referred to the birthday as a "pussy party," and we had to gently suggest that 5-year old niece stop telling people she was attending a pussy party at Aunty Kirstie's house!
Although Biloxi is quite frail (he blows over if the breeze from the fan directly hits him), he's in pretty good health for a 20 year old cat! He's become super cuddly since we lost Dundee, our little white dog, and he insists on sleeping with his paw on my arm, or his head nuzzled in my neck whenever I'm home. I truly feel like he can sense when I'm not feeling well (or maybe he just really enjoys laying in bed with me!) He can be incredibly annoying, meowing bloody murder at 4am when his pate is no longer formed in a perfect volcano shape, but despite the aggravation he causes, I love this cat so much. When I look at him, all the memories of our youth come rushing back. Biloxi was with us when Evan and I moved in together for the first time (that was a ROUGH start, by the way). He travelled to every state/country/continent that Ev played hockey in. He's been with us through really hard times, and with us during the best times (he tried to climb on Ev's knee as he was proposing!) We love this guy, and I know that he won't live forever (or maybe he will?), but I'm so grateful for every extra day that we have with him.
I have a really funny true tale of rescuing a goat from the middle of the road - but this story deserves it's own post. So stay tuned because things definitely goat out of hand!
Cheers!
No comments:
Post a Comment