Washing me Clean

Welcome to my new home!  The sparsely furnished apartment overlooks a lushly landscaped orchard.  At night the bats swoop thru the pawpaw trees eating up all the mosquitoes.  Honestly, I've only seen one skeeter so far.  And, during the day the geckos are at work patrolling the kitchen.  Crested hummingbirds in the morning, peepers at night and clumps of cumulus clouds powdering the Caribbean sky most of the time.  Spectacular and vibrant.  

                                                              

I've missed nature.  In Cambridge, months would go by without me even seeing the stars in the sky.  After breakfast at 75 miles per hour on route 93, I was lucky if I was able to catch the moon before my 6am start at the middle school. As I watch the palms playing with the gentle breeze, I can feel layers of stress vanishing, bit by bit, like the surf washing away layers of sand.   

7-year Itch

After my husband died suddenly about 7 years ago, I thought I was ready to change my life.  Even though, of course,  everything did change in an instant, I stayed in the same apartment in Cambridge and kept to my routines.  They say that every seven years you are a completely new person.  Many cells in the body rebuild, but, unfortunately, heartache is forever.

So, packing up my troubles, I gathered my new body, minus some parts from the surgery, and set off for:     St. Lucia!!!
                                                                                       

Lured by the idyllic Caribbean lifestyle and the passion for music of the St. Lucian youth, I am now in residence as the orchestra director at the St. Lucia School of Music.  The island is bustling with tourism and hosts boat races and jazz festivals: http://stluciajazz.org/


Only a 5-hour, non-stop flight from Boston, it's easy to take a break and come visit!

It takes a Village

     After the surgery, it took many "villages" to get me on my way.  The surgeon warned me to not lift anything over 10 lbs. for six weeks.  Lucky for me, my friends stepped up and I even made new friends.  It seems that when we are at are most vulnerable, people sense the need and step up.
                  Thank you!!!
     Packing up the apartment and choosing only the barest of essentials, I made my way slowly towards a new life and a new career far from home.  After a Boston winter of working nights and weekends, a change was desperately needed.
     On the plane I met Jenny, who is going to help organize an instrument drive.  Her husband, the
ophthalmologist, diagnosed my eye problem somewhere
over the Atlantic.  Probably the first mile high eye exam in ophthalmology history.
     And, who met me at the airport?  The school hospitality administrator and two  of my new students.  I asked the students what they liked to do when they weren't practicing.  They both responded, "reading and writing."  We are all excited about chamber orchestra practice tomorrow!