{"id":17213,"date":"2024-01-15T16:04:03","date_gmt":"2024-01-15T21:04:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/?p=17213"},"modified":"2024-01-15T16:04:03","modified_gmt":"2024-01-15T21:04:03","slug":"where-i-have-been-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/?p=17213","title":{"rendered":"Where I Have Been"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"This blogger has taken a break. A much-needed break from a busy 2023.<\/p>\n

During 2023, I logged over 1,000 hours of volunteering in service to my community.<\/p>\n

I racked up 15,000 air miles on travels within the U.S. and Canada.<\/p>\n

And yeah, I am retired and lovin’ the freedom to do what I want to do, and when and where I live to enjoy a full life.<\/p>\n

So where have I been this winter?
\n
\n\"\"Each year since my beloved husband died, I return to “my island” — Puerto Rico — for my annual winter renewal. <\/p>\n

I used to work there and visited dozens of times. It helps to speak the local language (Puerto Rican Spanish) that I learned from working there since 1989.<\/p>\n

\"\"It is still a struggle with grieving the unexpected death of my husband, especially at Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and January 5. <\/p>\n

Christmas Day 2020 was the last day he was in our house since he was so sick, I had to bring him to the hospital on the 26th. <\/p>\n

New Year’s Eve 2020, I had to invoke my rights as his healthcare proxy to tell his doctors to stop treatment since there was no hope for recovery. These were his wishes.<\/p>\n

I had to transport him to a hospice center on December 31, 2020 — to die. He died peacefully on January 5, 2021, while I was holding his hand. Man, that was tough.<\/p>\n

\"\"Each winter since he died, I go to Puerto Rico to spend time with my many amigos, visit places we (and I) loved, have memories of my husband (especially on the beach where I scattered his ashes<\/a>), enjoy some photography, and relax, recover, unwind, and renew.<\/p>\n

Mid-December 2023, I flew “back home” to “my island.” I have a really nice place to stay (for free!) at a close friend’s house. <\/p>\n

Since I was in my “happy place,” I was busy living my full life each and every day.<\/p>\n

I toured some places I had not seen before. The mountains in the middle of the island are lovely! (Photos of various things I saw are here.<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"\"I found some amazing beaches off the beaten path where I watched skilled surfers show their stuff (and hot bods!) No way I could do that, but they’re amazing to watch. (Photos of some surfers are here.<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Many evenings, I viewed stunning sunsets that Western Puerto Rico is known for. (View some images here.<\/a>) I am particularly pleased that my home-away-from-home is on the west coast, so sunsets are a regular thing to watch. Sometimes from a beach, and sometimes from the rooftops of friends’ homes and my own. <\/p>\n

\"\"As I strolled some lovely beaches, I was fascinated to watch pelicans fly, dive, and fish. (Pelican photos here.<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Between 11 December and 10 January — a full month — I lived, thrived, and renewed my soul.<\/p>\n

Now I am back home in Maryland — in ice and snow! Aw man! Bring me back! <\/p>\n

Only good thing about cold weather is that I can wear leather! When I was in Puerto Rico, short hikers with shorts and t-shirts were my usual attire. (No worries, I have not reduced myself to wear flip-flops. No way.)<\/p>\n

Life is short: live fully where your spirit thrives — con mis amigos!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This blogger has taken a break. A much-needed break from a busy 2023. During 2023, I logged over 1,000 hours of volunteering in service to my community. I racked up 15,000 air miles on travels within the U.S. and Canada. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-puerto-rico-memorial"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17213"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17213\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}