February 18, 2011- Sunset Running...

     I left the house a little later than usual for my run around the island.  With music in my ears and more energy than I expected, I round the corner by the dock security checkpoint (DSC) approximately halfway through my 3 mile route, skirt the tennis courts where my oldest son is busy doing tennis drills with his team, and head onto the dirt road next to the shore of the lagoon.  It was around 7:15, and the sun generally sets around 6:45, so I expected to be running in the dark for the last half of the run since I didn’t leave until closer to 7.  However, I was pleasantly surprised to discover my path was lit more than enough to stay on track, and as I looked to my left out on the water, I relished in the last remains of one of our famous island sunsets.  Except for friendships and the ease of lifestyle here on the island, watching the sunset on the lagoon is one of the most highly missed parts of life for those who have moved on.  On any given night, you can find several couples and groups of people sitting on benches on in beach chairs and under pavilions along the lagoon enjoying the final rays of the day. Seeing this unexpectedly colorful last couple of minutes of the sun’s descent into the sea made me think about the day I’ll leave it all behind. 
     Having being on island almost 14 full years now, I am most certainly at the tail end of my years here instead of the beginning or middle, and leaving the atoll will be a huge change. How will I adjust to living without a perfect year round running climate? How will I feel about leaving the spectacular blue green water that has surrounded me for so long and to which I have run to numerous times tossing my prayers, pains, and joys into because it was consistent and always there for me, never asking for anything in return?  These are questions I don’t have the answers to, but like all the other unanswerable questions in my life, I know when I leave, it will be for the right reasons and at the right time and that I will have accomplished all that I hoped for and more while here. I’ve truly enjoyed the island as well as experienced its ugly side, but I have, without a doubt, come out all the better for it, gaining perspective from both ends of the spectrum concerning life here and in the wider world. I’m sure there will be some anxious moments on that last day, but there will also be excitement for the new journey ahead, just as I have felt for my friends year after year upon their departures for new adventures in “the real world.”