The Next Chapter…Several Chapters Later

When we left this story, Stu and I were biking around Ubud, Indonesia four years ago. That trip didn’t end with the bike trip, but our camera died not long after, and so did the will to blog. After that month in Indonesia, we spent another four weeks in Thailand, living in a tiny little town of Thong Nai Pan Yai, on the northeast corner of the island of Koh Phangan.  We spent 28 days in a Dreamland, dipping into the turquoise waters of the Gulf of Thailand, swimming in the beautiful freshwater pool, relaxing in the hot tub surrounded by frangipani trees, or hooping on the white sands of a beach so private, that if there were more than 10 other people there it felt like a crowd.  It looked like this, pretty much all day, every day.

It was paradise.

We came home relaxed and energized and excited for what lay ahead, though we had no idea what that would be.  And we certainly didn’t expect it to turn out the way it did.  But you never know what life has in store.  Life, she’s a tricky one.  She’ll throw you a curveball when you least expect it.  She threw this one right out of nowhere and straight at our hearts:

Amira Joy Silverman, born June 2, 2012.

And so the next chapter in our life became about her.  Learning how to nurture her, care for her, and grow her, all without losing ourselves or each other.  It’s not an easy thing to do. But when she smiles that smile, every tear, every sleepless night, every heartbreak of parenthood, becomes so worth it.

About a year after Amira was born, we started yet another chapter.  That chapter meant having a life again.  We went out a little more, with friends and with each other.  Stu started a new jam with a friend that took him out of the house every Friday night.  I started a new career as a freelance writer, and slowly but surely started to build up a resume doing that which is my heart’s calling.  Amira grew and developed and learned and very quickly became her own person.  And we started thinking about what would make sense for our little family going forward.

And that’s how we ended up in this chapter of our lives.  This chapter that found Stu and I unable to sleep one night for all the thoughts, questions and ideas floating around in our heads.  We hashed out a plan through whispers in bed between 4:30-7:30am on a Saturday morning, and five weeks later, we had sold almost everything we owned, put the rest in storage with forgiving family members, and moved our little family of three across the world to the tiny little beach town of Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica.

And that’s where this chapter beings.  In a small, two-bedroom apartment at the back of the property of Jacaranda Hotel & Jungle Garden.  And that name is no lie.  It’s a beautiful, jungle oasis in here, and almost a month into this adventure, it’s starting to feel like home.

 

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