The question I am asked most frequently by both friends and hotel guests is “What do you DO all day?” This question may in part be motivated by our location in a rural part of a developing country, with its lack of access to the amenities and conveniences that we are accustomed to; and also partly by the fact that we live in a hotel, which leads to people wondering if I spend my days reclining on a sun- lounger with a book and cocktail in hand!
This week I captured everything I did in 24 hours so you could catch a glimpse into a typical day here at the beach.
6 am: I’m woken up by Alonzo climbing in to bed next to me and try to stay still in the hope that maybe he will go back to sleep. I realize that Coco is already lying next to me and wonder when she got there!
Earl gets up and leaves to check that all is in order in the restaurant. There is no way Alonzo is going back to sleep, he gets up and is playing quietly in his room so I climb back in to bed next to the still sleeping Coco and close my eyes.
6.45 am: I must have drifted off because I am awoken by Earl’s voice asking Alonzo what he thinks he is doing? Oh shit, I think, what has he done now? Alonzo appears with his mouth full of Hershey Kisses and a trail of silver foil behind him! I get up and make them a more ‘nutritious’ breakfast!
7.15 am: It is time to get ready for school so the next 30 minutes is a flurry of activity as I run around cajoling Coco and Alonzo into their school uniforms, making snacks, packing bags, and styling hair. Then they are out the door and Earl drives them the 5 minutes down the dirt road to school.
8am: I wave goodbye and walk the 50 feet to the restaurant to grab breakfast from the continental buffet. Back at the house, I look around and see that it is a disaster. I quickly tidy up, then sit down at my desk with my coffee and bowl of granola. I make a list for the day, send some emails, and check my social media feeds.
9am: I find my yoga mat, resistance bands and small ball, and complete a workout using my favourite fitness app.
9.45am: I quickly shower and get dressed.
9.55am: I sit back down at my desk and log in to the university server for the nutrition course I am currently teaching online.
The final exam is about to begin; the students will also be logging in and connecting with their virtual proctors. I will remain online to answer any questions or problem solve if any technical difficulties arise. Thankfully, apart from one small glitch it all goes well.
10.30am: I join Earl and our guests in the restaurant for my ‘second’ breakfast of veggie omelet and potatoes.
10.50am: Earl leaves to pick up Coco and Alonzo from school and I sit back down at my desk to check in with the progress of the final exam. I work on an external review that I have been invited to complete by a journal.
11.20am: The kids are home, we debrief about their school day, have a snack, and play (probably close to an hour of each day is spent pushing Alonzo on the swing!)
12.50pm: The kids have a meltdown, I have a meltdown, nobody is listening and nobody is happy. Earl comes home and we bicker about how best to deal with their behaviour. When things start to calm down we have an impromptu family meeting where we talk about the ‘house rules’, the importance of listening, and the consequences of not listening. (Yes, I had just googled “what to do when your preschoolers won’t listen?”!) The kids promise to transform and quickly set about tidying up their toys and hugging each other lovingly, along with loud exclamations of “Look at us, mummy and daddy”… which of course was backed up with lots of positive reinforcement!
1.40pm: Earl heads back to the restaurant to run the lunch service. Alonzo climbs into the hammock and I swing him to sleep for his nap.
2.15pm: Earl delivers a plate of fish tacos for lunch. I try to eat it quickly as Chillito the cat keeps trying to pounce on my plate!
2.45pm: I’m leading a chocolate workshop with our 19 guests at 3pm so I head to the restaurant rancho and set up the bowls, plates, spoons, knives and various ingredients.
3.10 pm: I get side tracked chatting with one of the guests so I’m not punctual starting the chocolate workshop… this is called Nica time! Coco pulls up a stool and acts as my assistant! Everyone gets busy de-husking and grinding the cacao beans to a paste, adding some sweetness and other goodies, then rolling them into delicious chocolates. These will be dessert on the dinner menu tonight!
4.45 pm: Back at the house, Alonzo has only just woken up from his nap and is lying on the floor in a post-slumber haze. We share a little cuddle. He eats his fish tacos. We change to our swimsuits and get ready to head down to the beach.
5.30pm: Coco, Alonzo and I walk down to the beach. Despite my protests that it is not proper beach attire, Alonzo decides to forgo his swim shorts in favour of his sisters ‘Frozen’ leggings and sparkly party shoes! Of course as soon as we arrive at the beach, he realizes his folly and strips off naked.
We’re the only people at the beach. It is low tide so the kids run in and out of the water and play in the sand. We watch the sun go down, yelling “see you next time” as it disappears beyond the horizon. We collect a bucket of shells. This is the homework assignment written in their school notebook. Coco tells me that they are going to make instruments with them tomorrow. It’s getting dark so we head back home.
6.30pm: We shower together and change in to our pyjamas. I put a movie on for the kids while I make dinner. We usually eat in the restaurant but tonight they are serving curry, which the kids complain is too spicy. I boil up some pasta and add some tomato sauce (left over from the eggplant parmesan on the menu the previous evening). We eat dinner together and watch the rest of the movie.
8 pm: It’s past their bed-time (due to the movie) so we quickly run through the bed-time routine of tooth-brushing, reading stories and saying good-night. Coco and Alonzo share a room and we’re working on mummy nor daddy lying down with them at bed-time, so it takes a few attempts of putting Alonzo back into bed before he finally falls asleep.
9pm: I clean up after dinner (another benefit of eating in the restaurant most evenings is that I don’t have to wash the dishes)! I quickly answer a few e-mails.
9.30pm: I sit down on the sofa with Earl (and a glass of red wine), we chat about the day, and watch some ‘mindless’ TV.
10pm: My drowsiness overtakes me, so I brush my teeth and climb into bed. Ready to be woken up again at dawn (or before!)
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