Now just because we're on a tropical island doesn't mean we don't need and even crave routine. There is a lie that goes something like this--paradise is being able to do what you want when you want it with no consequences...I believe it was Alfred Hitchcock who took that 'dream' to its fullest extent to realize it was in fact not paradise but hell itself. The reality is we need routine, tasks to complete, responsibilities to fulfill and a chance to serve others and be part of something bigger than our own whims. So let me give you a bit of a rundown of our routine that we have burrowed ourselves into, many of you have been asking what our days look like so here's the thrill of our week:
If this isn't of your interest, feel free to skip it...fair warning, its kind of boring...like a routine.
First of all, a little about the island. Its an 'eco' island, meaning the original intent here was to keep it green and quiet and embrace all the nature possible. There are no cars here, but paved bike paths much like what runs through Waterfront drive back home; these trails connect the entire resort area. We live in the middle of the island, about 1km from the harbour where we catch the ferry and 1km from the surf side (ocean facing Peru). With that, if we want to go anywhere we go by bike generously provided in the place we're staying in.
Much of our routine is based around how hot it is. The average temp here is about 29'celcius with humidity around 80%, by noon its so hot its hard to think straight.
Monday-Thursday:
Shonet and I wake between 5:30-6am (depending on lorikeets). I head off on a bike to an exercise room here...seems I have been unable to run as I have either pulled or torn a muscle in my calf. Shonet's attempts to massage it out has only ended with me squirming in pain and her snickering. In my workout I'm listening to all the sermons at EMBC, with the odd message by Alistair Begg thrown in. When I return, she heads out for a run up to the beach, takes a peak at the ocean and then heads back (hoping not to disturb pythons).
Kids are not allowed out of their room before 7:15am.
We do our devos while the other is out exercising. I sit on a comfy chair on the deck, sipping a cup of tea while reading John's gospel and a myriad of other books. With Lent starting we have begun reading A.W. Tozer's book on Easter.
Breakfast is usually around 8am, not much different than back home...however muesli is a big deal down here...haven't tried vegemite yet (shudder). At breakfast our family reads through the Long Story Short Devos for family, today we were introduced to king David. The kids are doing Bible memory (Proverbs 3:1-8).
By 8:30am I'm usually out the door...depends how fast my french press is working. At this point our day splits:
Me: I take a bag of books and find somewhere relatively quiet, bug free to read and write. I've written another post about the books I usually take with me at this time. Sometimes I'll bike up to the beach and take a walk along the waters edge...a good time to pray and think...though not too long as the sun is ferocious. But for the most part I find myself overlooking the harbour facing the mainland.
Shonet and kids: They work feverishly to get their school work done...(Nate grade 5, Anthony grade 2, Olivia grade 1). And by 11am they're sun-screened up, in their togs (swimsuits) and head to the pool. They will bike through a rainforest, fully paved pathway for about 1km to the pool where they frolic for about an hour, they usually have the whole pool to themselves during the week as the island is quite empty.
We meet up again for lunch...sandwiches are beautiful and read a chapter of Narnia.
For the afternoons: The kids and Shonet take a quiet time for about an hour...something we have instituted since Nate was born...more for our sanity than anything. While they start their rest I'm off again reading or writing at the harbour entrance, where there is free wifi.
We'll meet again at the pool around 3pm and I'll take the kids from there. Lots of swimming, wrestling, random games with pool stuff or just chatting with other travellers/staff. We'll bike back to the cottage around 4:30 to start making supper.
Each day the kids have chores which rotate through the week: dishes, vacuuming, meal clean up each chore comes with a splash of complaining.
Our evenings are varied, either we play games (UNO, BANG the dice game, Monopoly, chess) or we bike over to see the sunset. A cold shower and perhaps a short bit of tv.
Fridays are a little different. I take the kids for the day typically and try to give Shonet a break. She takes some books, journals etc., and finds a quiet, cool place on the island to read as the kids and I find ways to have some fun or enjoy a new adventure. Geocaching, swimming at the beach or pool, tennis.
Saturdays are cleaning days for us, but once all that is done there are kids activities organized through the day which the kids try to take advantage of; Shonet and I usually get an hour or two in the evenings to sit at the cafe for a date while the kids are at a movie hosted by one of the staff--an amazing blessing especially since we did not think we would have babysitting for 3 months.
Sundays are our craziest day. We wake early, pack our bags and bike down to the ferry. We then catch the ferry across to the mainland, takes about 45 mins; there we catch an UBER (cheap taxi) and ride for another 20 mins to church. We've been attending Liberti Coomera, a church plant in a fairly new area; I found it on the T4G church finder website. After church we grab a brief snack as we hurry out the door with all our bags, walk about 15 mins to a new mall and grab a light lunch there (usually KFC). From there we spread out, this is our one chance to buy anything we need and we're on a time limit...we need to get back to the ferry before 3:30pm or we're land bound for the night. Shonet will usually then take the bags and go to the grocery store in the mall (very similar kind of place to Sobeys), I'll take the kids to explore the shops and give them a chance to spend their allowance. We'll meet up again at the grocery store and help Shonet finish up the shop. From there we catch another UBER back to the ferry hopefully on time to ride back.
Once on the island all our bags get loaded up on our bikes, no one is spared a heavy bag...even Olivia carries a heavy load. We're a site to see I'm sure and with not a little bit of grumbling we bike back (about 10 mins) to our little cottage. After unloading we're a sweaty mess...so its off the pool again for a dip before making supper.
Sunday evenings are kind of a family meeting time, talking about what's working, what's not, what are our hopes for the week ahead, are there any unresolved conflicts/issues, any fears or new discoveries from last week, and we give some updates on plans that may be changing. Then we usually watch a couple shows on the tv before bed routine.
That's our life here on the island. If we didn't have a routine like this, I'm not sure we would make it, it gives a sense of normalcy and stability for each of us.
There, you made it...now back to your routine!
If this isn't of your interest, feel free to skip it...fair warning, its kind of boring...like a routine.
First of all, a little about the island. Its an 'eco' island, meaning the original intent here was to keep it green and quiet and embrace all the nature possible. There are no cars here, but paved bike paths much like what runs through Waterfront drive back home; these trails connect the entire resort area. We live in the middle of the island, about 1km from the harbour where we catch the ferry and 1km from the surf side (ocean facing Peru). With that, if we want to go anywhere we go by bike generously provided in the place we're staying in.
Much of our routine is based around how hot it is. The average temp here is about 29'celcius with humidity around 80%, by noon its so hot its hard to think straight.
Monday-Thursday:
Shonet and I wake between 5:30-6am (depending on lorikeets). I head off on a bike to an exercise room here...seems I have been unable to run as I have either pulled or torn a muscle in my calf. Shonet's attempts to massage it out has only ended with me squirming in pain and her snickering. In my workout I'm listening to all the sermons at EMBC, with the odd message by Alistair Begg thrown in. When I return, she heads out for a run up to the beach, takes a peak at the ocean and then heads back (hoping not to disturb pythons).
Kids are not allowed out of their room before 7:15am.
We do our devos while the other is out exercising. I sit on a comfy chair on the deck, sipping a cup of tea while reading John's gospel and a myriad of other books. With Lent starting we have begun reading A.W. Tozer's book on Easter.
Breakfast is usually around 8am, not much different than back home...however muesli is a big deal down here...haven't tried vegemite yet (shudder). At breakfast our family reads through the Long Story Short Devos for family, today we were introduced to king David. The kids are doing Bible memory (Proverbs 3:1-8).
By 8:30am I'm usually out the door...depends how fast my french press is working. At this point our day splits:
Me: I take a bag of books and find somewhere relatively quiet, bug free to read and write. I've written another post about the books I usually take with me at this time. Sometimes I'll bike up to the beach and take a walk along the waters edge...a good time to pray and think...though not too long as the sun is ferocious. But for the most part I find myself overlooking the harbour facing the mainland.
Shonet and kids: They work feverishly to get their school work done...(Nate grade 5, Anthony grade 2, Olivia grade 1). And by 11am they're sun-screened up, in their togs (swimsuits) and head to the pool. They will bike through a rainforest, fully paved pathway for about 1km to the pool where they frolic for about an hour, they usually have the whole pool to themselves during the week as the island is quite empty.
We meet up again for lunch...sandwiches are beautiful and read a chapter of Narnia.
For the afternoons: The kids and Shonet take a quiet time for about an hour...something we have instituted since Nate was born...more for our sanity than anything. While they start their rest I'm off again reading or writing at the harbour entrance, where there is free wifi.
We'll meet again at the pool around 3pm and I'll take the kids from there. Lots of swimming, wrestling, random games with pool stuff or just chatting with other travellers/staff. We'll bike back to the cottage around 4:30 to start making supper.
Each day the kids have chores which rotate through the week: dishes, vacuuming, meal clean up each chore comes with a splash of complaining.
Our evenings are varied, either we play games (UNO, BANG the dice game, Monopoly, chess) or we bike over to see the sunset. A cold shower and perhaps a short bit of tv.
Fridays are a little different. I take the kids for the day typically and try to give Shonet a break. She takes some books, journals etc., and finds a quiet, cool place on the island to read as the kids and I find ways to have some fun or enjoy a new adventure. Geocaching, swimming at the beach or pool, tennis.
Saturdays are cleaning days for us, but once all that is done there are kids activities organized through the day which the kids try to take advantage of; Shonet and I usually get an hour or two in the evenings to sit at the cafe for a date while the kids are at a movie hosted by one of the staff--an amazing blessing especially since we did not think we would have babysitting for 3 months.
Sundays are our craziest day. We wake early, pack our bags and bike down to the ferry. We then catch the ferry across to the mainland, takes about 45 mins; there we catch an UBER (cheap taxi) and ride for another 20 mins to church. We've been attending Liberti Coomera, a church plant in a fairly new area; I found it on the T4G church finder website. After church we grab a brief snack as we hurry out the door with all our bags, walk about 15 mins to a new mall and grab a light lunch there (usually KFC). From there we spread out, this is our one chance to buy anything we need and we're on a time limit...we need to get back to the ferry before 3:30pm or we're land bound for the night. Shonet will usually then take the bags and go to the grocery store in the mall (very similar kind of place to Sobeys), I'll take the kids to explore the shops and give them a chance to spend their allowance. We'll meet up again at the grocery store and help Shonet finish up the shop. From there we catch another UBER back to the ferry hopefully on time to ride back.
Once on the island all our bags get loaded up on our bikes, no one is spared a heavy bag...even Olivia carries a heavy load. We're a site to see I'm sure and with not a little bit of grumbling we bike back (about 10 mins) to our little cottage. After unloading we're a sweaty mess...so its off the pool again for a dip before making supper.
Sunday evenings are kind of a family meeting time, talking about what's working, what's not, what are our hopes for the week ahead, are there any unresolved conflicts/issues, any fears or new discoveries from last week, and we give some updates on plans that may be changing. Then we usually watch a couple shows on the tv before bed routine.
That's our life here on the island. If we didn't have a routine like this, I'm not sure we would make it, it gives a sense of normalcy and stability for each of us.
There, you made it...now back to your routine!
Not boring at all. Loved the little glimpse into your life.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting stuff. Keep it coming!
ReplyDelete