A Year’s Worth of Updates: Cliff Notes Edition

It’s been over a year since we last posted on this blog. There’s really no particular reason for that—just the usual stuff everyone deals with. Life gets busy, and every time I thought about writing, I’d be like 😳 where do I begin? What have I shared? What do people want to know? Is anyone even reading this thing?

Things that used to be new, fun, exciting, or quirky and unusual have now become part of our daily routine. It’s hard to remember what’s truly interesting.

I’m taking this moment to provide a general life update with the hope of getting back into a routine of regular blog updates, if for nothing else but to look back on it when I’m old and say, “Wow, I really freaking did it!”

Family Updates:
Harold and Barbara are still loving the beach life. If it were up to Harold, he would go to the beach five times a day. He enjoys his morning walks, searching for leftover food from the previous day’s picnics and parties. The rest of his beach visits are reserved for chasing birds, throwing sticks, playing with coconuts, and, of course, swimming. Barbara ensures that Harold doesn’t have too much fun on our walks.

Madeline and Mai have started school. Mai is in her sophomore year. When you have kids, you think about teaching them to walk, talk, and bedtime stories, but no one really talks about the process of launching your kids into the world. Well, we are officially in the process of off-boarding with Mai. We recently had a school meeting to ensure she’s on track with credits and AP classes, and to figure out the SAT/ACTs. She isn’t sure if she wants to go to college, but she’s taking all the necessary steps to keep that option open. Madeline started fifth grade, and it’s still hard to believe that my baby is nearly middle school age.

Garrett broke his toe a few months ago (stay tuned for a separate post about this), which led us to explore the medical system here—a quiet adventure, to say the least. He’s working as a mechanic and loving it. As for me, I started a business as a virtual assistant. After moving here, I wanted a break from computer work, so I met an amazing friend who let me help with interior design and furnishing vacation rentals. It was a dream job—spending other people’s money, choosing paint colors, organizing, and decorating beachfront condos. After doing that for over a year, I decided to return to working with a computer, with the ultimate goal of being able to work remotely from anywhere in the world.

Our original commitment to Panama was two years, and our two-year Panaversary is this Friday. But we’re not going back. Mai has asked to graduate from here, so we’ll be here for the next three years. After that, we’re not entirely sure. Our ultimate goal might be Southeast Asia, but that’s quite far away, and there are many factors to consider at that time. However, I don’t think we’ll stay in Panama past that point. We like it here; it’s been a soft landing for being expats. But we don’t LOVE it here. I suppose only time will tell.

If you are reading this and have questions, reach out! I’m happy to message and chat about or experience.Or write a post in response to what you are curious about.