The Year of the Whale

And what a year it’s been (so far)...

Since January, we here at The Liveable have been on warp speed, mach3, shooting through time like a speeding train. The start of 2019 meant all new things to me, like it does to most of you. I set out, first and foremost, to be the healthiest version of myself. Inward and outward. Not just for myself, but for all the selves in my orbit. To date, that promises to be a work-in-progress. When is it not, right? I tell myself I WANT to be an “all or nothing” type of a girl. All in, health and fitness wise, no wishy washy, in the middle type stuff. What ends up happening is I achieve, with consistent success an 80/20 ratio. I’m either 80 percent right and 20 percent left, or the complete opposite of that. One week I’m living on good vibes and grapefruit and the next I’m all tequila and tacos. Every.single.day. No middle. That’s me. I hate the middle. I’ve come to realize that the extremes are where I live. It should be a state. I’d move there.

In March, the four of us packed bags and flew to Cabo San Lucas. One of our very favorite, totally Liveable places to be. The weather was gorgeous for our entire trip and Baha Sur did not disappoint. Last time we visited Cabo we had the most magical time. We not only connected as a family, we connected with the ocean. Truly our very favorite way to spend our time. We did some boating and deep sea fishing, caught a huge and very beautiful Marlin fish, and we got to see sea lions hitch a ride on the back of our boat, as an enormous school of dolphin swam by and pelicans joined us for the trip. A truly amazing experience. During this most recent trip, we hopped back on board another deep sea fishing excursion and tried to re-create our previous vacation. Don’t ever do this. Let the past have it’s own life, seriously.

As we set sail, we moved silently and sleepily out of port as the sun was rising and I thought to myself; “God, show me your Glory, please let us see whales.” Well wouldn’t you know…not twenty minutes into our journey out to sea and low and behold - we got our whales in all their enormity and beauty. A mother, a father and their playful calf, swimming and jumping and twirling for all the world to see. It was miraculous and because I prayed for it upon our departure, the show of His Great Works had me laughing and screaming, clapping hands and crying aloud as the sun rose high in the sky. What a sight! And what a true disappointment I was to my mortified kids in that moment of sheer bliss. So embarrassed of me were they, I thought we’d have to turn around.

But we got our whales! Here’s what else we got: sea sick. And instead of the marlin or something in the general big fish family, we caught one teeny, tiny sardine - not even big enough to feed the sea lion who joined us back in port. We were hoping to see that sea lion again - Pancho is his name. However we learned that “our” Pancho died years ago and now they just call every sea lion Pancho because "the gringos” like it. O.M.G.

Once we disembarked, we decided on some retail therapy to stave away the fact that we spent six hours out to sea only to have a sea lion snub our offering. I.Can’t.Even. Once inside the mall, I was approached by a man named “Eden” who wanted to give me a make over. I insisted no, but he said I truly needed some work as he proceeded to point out my every flaw and guess my age several years in the wrong direction. For the second time that day, I shed tears. And cash. I bought whatever he was selling because I was just young and how dare he. And with my second round of sobbing (and mortifying my young), I was awarded the very realistic fact that some things are here and then they simply are not. My youthful, glowing skin is at the core, the very least of it.

Those whales were the first glimpse into what the rest of this year seems to be shaping up to be. A panoramic view into the future. I wanted to see those whales…badly. They paid their visit. Evidence in the very real belief (for me at least), that; “that which you manifest is before you.”. For a few, very remarkable moments I was in total and complete awe. A 100 percent moment in a very 20 percent kind of day. And just like that, they were gone.

Since then, I have seen this same scenario play itself out in a zillion facets of my life and travels. I have lived 100 percent only to realize, you cannot have your whales and your marlin too. Sometimes you have to settle for the big big followed by just a sardine.

Those Cabo whales would not be the last sighting for me in my travels this year. These creatures showed up for me again and again. First in Africa then in New York (of all places) and finally Alaska. Each time I was acutely aware of the pendulum swing and reminded that these full-throttle moments produce momentum and it’s imperative to hold on super tight, lest the pendulum swing too far to the other side.

Life is fragile. I’ve seen it go this year. I’ve heard the silence it leaves behind. And in that solitude I am reminded of how precious our fully-lived moments are and how important it is to cherish them, but also how important it is to let them go. Those whales are out there, spreading immeasurable joy to people who need to see them, just like I did. I’m blessed beyond my worth for those moments and I will always hold steadfast to the hope my family and I will have more just like them. Yet, these big times don’t always take the shape of a whale or a marlin. Sometimes they appear as new friendships. New career paths. Old friendships and marriages that become stronger and stronger with the passing of time and every tsunami survived. Everything that is Liveable has an equal chance to thrive as it does to squander. Let’s never forget this when we are living our best lives. All of it happens in the same space. And when these earth shattering moments take your breath away, remember to fill back up with fresh air. Whales can only stay under for so long before they need to surface and that my beautifuls is when the magic happens...

xoxoxo

Christine