Welp, happy Sunday.
I’m currently sitting at the airport in Liberia, Costa Rica— patiently waiting for my next little flight to board so I can meet the 14 women who will be joining me for the 2nd Surf & Saddle Retreat that I’m hosting with
.It’s so humid in here but there’s an incredible breeze that’s blowing my hair, borderline annoying but it feels too good to complain so I’m going to just let the hair tickle my face.
I’m sitting on the cool floor, bags stacked up next to me watching the people scurry around like ants. For some reason there’s comfort in this and I find myself with the urge to write. It’s where I’ve figured out I do my best writing, in a room full of people, paying 0% attention to me. I just get to people watch and let the words come and go; I tell the authors that I work with to do this - change your scenery, find the place that allows you to write, no matter what it looks like.
I’m tired. Like— wiped.
I was up around 4 am ET this morning, I think I got plenty of sleep. I just don’t think my body has caught up from Rome.
WHICH WAS INCREDIBLE BY THE WAYYYY.
When I tell you the whole thing was like a dream, I mean it. MJ had about 10 days in a row off of work and was in deep need of a vacation. I’m witnessing first hand how exhausting pilot-life is and when he says he needs to get away, I know he means it.
We sat at home on the couch and looked up flights that were leaving on the day we wanted to go and agreed to go to Rome. {whatttt} Wild, the flight benefits, being able to pick a location and go (as long as there are seats available). We got really lucky, snagging first class seats on the way out there.
I just look over at MJ as they’re handing me my mimosa and I’m in awe (he says I look at hime like I’m crazy sometimes, little does he know I’m crazy about him). Of him, of the life we’re living, of his love. I won’t make this a big sappy-substack but the way this man loves me is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I used to read the smut books and watch the chick flicks, entertained and curious, wondering if the love portrayed was real and attainable.
Turns out it is real, turns out there are men that look at you like you’re the most important thing in their world.
Turns out there are men that open doors and hold hands and kiss foreheads, and not just during the honeymoon phase, but forever.
Turns out the “I’m going to just be single for the rest of my life” girl became the “I don’t wanna go anywhere without him” girl.
So— when in Rome.
We touched down around 9 am Monday and got home Wednesday, early evening. We rode a scooter (yes, singular - we doubled up) around the city, ate gelato, pasta, pizza, and some of the best breakfast spreads we’d ever seen. We saw every touristy spot there was to see and stayed at the best hotels, soaking up the benefits of his status.
And when we were home, it felt like it had been a dream. Crazy how in one day, you can wake up on another side of the world and go to bed in the other. MJ calls it time traveling. That’s exactly what it is.
Nothing feels as good as home.
I know I say that a lot, in my stories and my posts, and never has there been a time in my life where I’ve meant it more than I do now. I am so in love with the life we are building, it makes it hard to leave and go anywhere else.
BARE: page 313 | Life #40 Manifestation
“Okay, I thought. The next day, I made a list of all the things I felt like I was missing in my relationship and/or life:
● Adventure
● Laughter
● Affection
● Excitement
● Spontaneity
● Joy
I settled down with the list I’d made, deciding I could always add on later, if I thought of something else, but those seemed like the big ones. I then wrote next to them some ideas or ways I could give myself those things.”
I think about this list often. I think about her- 2022/2023 me, an urge to feel something - anything! I’m so proud of her for taking matters into her own hands because the Universe rewarded her.
Once I learned how to be what I needed, in came someone who said: “I know you can do it all but now you don’t have to. Now you can rest - now you can exhale.”
And wow was it worth every lonely day that went by.
Well, I’m going to board soon — hopping over to Cobano, Costa Rica then a short taxi to our spot near Playa Hermosa. For the next several days, we’re going to be riding horses, soaking up the sun, and writing together, connecting together. I love this retreat, mostly because I love the transformation that I get to see women go through, right in front of my eyes.
I’ll keep this one short— because I’m sure I’ll be back, sharing some of my thoughts and takeaways throughout the week.
xx Raina
OHHHH and PS: Officially a licensed Real Estate Agent in Georgia so if you or someone you know are looking to relocate to the South Atlanta area, let me know.
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