it's my birthday

It was about 9:30 this morning when I realized it was my birthday.  It may have gone unnoticed altogether if not for the text from my husband.  "Happy Birthday Princess."  The Princess part is a bit of a running joke these days as I am anything but a princess.  I've never been called Princess or Baby in my fabulous 11 years with him or so I complained the other day.  Now I get it, dripping with sarcasm, every day. 

So it's my birthday.  I did the math twice just to be sure, but I am fairly confident that I am 31 today. 

31....
Hmmm....

As a child and teenager, I always imagined myself at different ages and while I never actually wrote it down, I still have a pretty vivid memory of where I was supposed to be.  It went something like this.

In my thirties I would be:

Settling back into the country after a decade abroad most likely studying Gorillas. 

I would be starting my thesis or some grand scientific journal recording my great works.

I would be raising all 11 of my little girls that I had rescued from an orphanage in Haiti (not sure where they were during the decade of living in the jungle though)

I would be thin (that's a given)

I would start looking for a suitable husband, if one could even be found (think incredibly high feminist standards) 


Instead...

This morning I woke up to a husband and four boys (technically five including baby in my belly) all in one queen size bed.  Claustrophobic anyone?

I have yet to start the Gorilla work (although raising boys is similar)

I have opted out of the 11 Haitian girls... obviously, although I do like the thought of adoption

I am not in some high level degree program nor have any of my works been recognized by any journals of any sorts.

Finally, I am not thin. 

All this being said though, I am really happy where I landed.  This may not be what I had planned, but clearly GOD had something else in mind. 

"Go ahead and dream big Erin, but I assure you, what I have in mind for you is far greater and far crazier that any adventure you could have planned for yourself."  Your Friend, GOD

I still find myself making all of these firm declarations for my life and expecting the pieces to fall right into my plans.  Even a few years ago I proclaimed that I would be done having children at thirty.  Oooops. 

I'm thinking it might be reasonable to know what we are going to have for dinner about a week in advance and scheduling some summer activities for the boys.  But concrete plans for the future?  Nope, I'm not going to do that anymore.  Here's to making no formal plans or expectations.  I will keep an open mind and an open calendar and take what GOD gives me and roll with it.  Who knows, if one day 11 orphans fall on my doorstep, I'll probably let them in, feed them something and start researching Pinterest to find a clever bunk bed plan that sleeps a few more. 

manatees

This last year has been the first year that we've actually spent a considerable amount of time up close and personal with Florida wildlife.  Prior to the cottage my wildlife encounters had been limited to the lizards that run into the house every time I open the door and whatever small creatures Elliott (the big orange boy cat) brings in.  The cottage has been out passport to the world of mangroves, estuaries, and new sea life. 

We've become dolphin tour guides.  All summer, fall and winter we have followed the dolphins around Pine Island Sound learning their daily patterns and hunting (fishing?) grounds.  I've counted the times that I have been out and near the Dolphin cruise boats that charge $30 per person.  I've saved thousands!  This helps me justify why we own a boat.

The boys are so accustomed to seeing dolphins that they don't even always look when I point out the dolphins anymore.  I joke that it would take flying unicorns at this time to grab their attention. 

We have had fewer run ins with manatees and so these are a bit more intriguing.  I've come to understand that when it is warm out they hang in the gulf but as the temps cool down they come in and spend some time lounging in the canals.  This can make canal navigation a bit difficult some days.  I sit in the front and keep an eye out. Manatees and boats have a long sad history. 

A while back, on a particularly cool weekend, Scott was scrubbing the boat after a long morning of exploring.  We picked out a boat with no carpeting for a reason.  Potato chip crumbs, peanut butter smears, sunscreen, and spilled drinks usually cover the  hard plastic floor.  Scott's tradition, after we take the last boat ride of the weekend, is to spend an hour with a cold beer, his hose and all his boat detailing supplies.  On this particular day, he was about half way though when his mom came into the house and called me outside to see a manatee.  I have several hundred pictures of manatee snouts from 25 feet away and really wasn't super excited about snapping anymore.  Manatees had previously been a bit of a photo op disappointment.  When you imagine seeing a manatee in the wild you envision seeing their entire body, not just a snout of a bit of their backs. 

So out I came and much to my surprise the manatee was lingering awfully close to the boat, obviously interested in the fresh hose water that was dripping off the boat.  I turned on the hose and held it near the surface of the water.  He lumbered over and immediately rolled belly up to get a drink.  WHAT???  I was amazed, he was so close I could hear him breath and could smell his not so fresh breath.  The boys were summoned to witness this amazing site.  He drank and drank and drank and only left when I decided to scrub the algae from his belly with the boat brush.  He needed it, but apparently wasn't big on personal hygiene.  Unprepared, I had Scott snap a picture with his cell phone.



As usual, after a new wildlife sighting, I started a full blown research project.  I love to gather as much information as possible and bring that back to the boys, the family and anyone else who will listen to me.  This often wins me the tour guide title when we have out of town visitors.  Sadly, I learned after this weekend that feeding manatees fresh water is actually a bad thing if not illegal.  Encouraging wild animals to depend on humans for anything is always frowned upon.  This is not specific to manatees, why haven't I learned this yet?