Last June we moved to Florida for a year, and we are now approaching the end of March. Our time is ticking away on the beach. Last March, teaching and graduate school were crushing me. I couldn’t breathe or see the light at the end of the tunnel. JMO’s new job working from home gave us a lot of freedom. Freedom we needed to do something different for a short while. I loaded up on classes last summer, this past fall, and now in the spring. I’m almost done. It has taken me awhile, but I’m almost there. The goal of taking time away from teaching was to finish this master’s degree, but I couldn’t of imagined what else this year would give me.

Every Tuesday (it was Wednesdays in the fall), JMO and I head over to my grandparents. We pick up lunch and we either make dinner or pick up from somewhere. My grandfather brings out articles he’s underlined in the Wall Street Journal. We go for walks down the street, and JMO takes him to the gym sometimes. My grandma and I sometimes go out to lunch or go shopping. I’ve visited them my entire life for a week or a weekend, but now we are local and our relationship is different. I can’t fathom going back to what our relationship was like before. I’ll be grateful for this time for the rest of my life.

I love my Florida yoga studio. My anxious self has enjoyed yoga as an outlet for the last few years, but my studio here has deepened my love. Last fall, I started yoga teacher training. Our bodies are strong, and they are capable of great strength. This strength does not look the same in every person. Our bones are different! Our muscles and tissues are not the same as our peers. Thus, our bodies work differently, and we get the same benefits as the person who looks like a pretzel. The women in my group are very different and strong willed. I’ve grown from our discussions. I want to take the type of yoga these women will share with the world, and I fear that I won’t find the same companionship and passion in a bigger city. Taking this time off has allowed me to pursue this passion.

Our family is growing. We’ll be having a Florida baby this June, and our child will spend his first weeks living by the ocean. I hope it will create a deep love of the beach in him. JMO and I get to take walks and sit outside and feel the ocean air. Our only friends locally are my grandparents, so we’ve gotten lots of quality time together. This time in our marriage before our child is born has been very special.

As our time winds down, I feel this pressure to absorb every minute of our quiet lives. This time next year we’ll have a house back in Texas and our kid might be crawling. Our lives will be busier, yet we will be closer to friends and more family. JMO and I made a good decision coming to Florida.