Leaving Barbados

It was overwhelming at first, but now the sort moves smoothly.

List on Marketplace. Pack for BC. Give to charity. Leave for next tenant. Paddle boards back to Mary. Give spices to Neil, so he can practice after the cooking lesson I gave him last week. Drop off memory foam, coffee grinder and drying rack to Jaana, when we go for our spa day. Scale to Asya when she brings over the last Barbadian cash I need to make the final car rental payment. My SCOBY and kombucha making supplies to Odwin, so he can make it himself after I’m gone. If Jessie doesn’t want my herb planters, just leave them here. After the last Hash run, offer the folding chairs to whoever wants them.

As the physical gets sorted, so too do my emotions.

We’ve been in Barbados 3 1/2 years. When we leave at the end of the month, it will be the first time we do not have a return ticket. It will be the first time we do not have accommodation booked for our return.

A trifecta of medical, family and residency issues means we will be back in Canada indefinitely. Not knowing when, or if, we return to Barbados brings how much I love this place into sharp focus.

We have established a community here, but life moves on. I know some of the friends we have made will stay in touch. Debbie will visit us on Vancouver Island this summer. Jaana and I are already planning where in the States we can meet.

Some of Barbados will always stay with me. To start, I can now comfortably drive on either side of the road, and switch with no effort. In Anguilla I even drove a left-hand-drive car on the left side of the road with no problems! I may need to start driving rally, though, to duplicate the thrill of the Bajan back country roads.

We will continue to run with a Hash, no matter where we go, but our home kennel will always be the Barbados Hash House Harriers.

I learned how to surf here. I may need to wear a wet suit, or travel west, but boards and waves will remain part of my life.

I have absorbed the Caribbean vibe so deeply that even when I am wearing shoes and warm clothes again it will not leave me. My priorities have permanently shifted. Living in rental accommodations has reminded me that “stuff” is not as important as I thought it was. I don’t need the perfect dishes and kitchenware to make a great company dinner, I just need to relax as I welcome people into my home!

The sun, the sea, and the love of a good, good man have rejuvenated me. I am a different person than when I first arrived.

Barbados lives in my heart, and I know that someday my brave travels will bring me back.