Feeling Nothing but Grateful
As I’m writing this to you, I am speeding toward Atlanta at a rate of 556 mph. Currently, I’m 27,988 feet in the air and somewhere between San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Florida.
To my left are my oldest and middle sons. To my right sit Ashley, our youngest son and our daughter.
All I know is we are somewhere over the Caribbean, and the monitor on the back of this Delta seat says it is 1,203 miles to Hartsfield.
We left our house one week ago this Sunday. Ashley and I got up at 3 a.m. to get the car loaded, do final checks and get the kids up so we could leave at 4:15 to catch our early flight from Chattanooga.
This proved to be no small feat.
In the week leading up to this trip, everyone had a fever, sore throat, cough and body aches. Everyone but me and Eliyab.
It seemed to have passed, and although there were still some lingering coughs, everyone appeared to be on the mend, if a little weak.
That being said, we got out of the house on time and made it through our first flight with little trouble. On the second plane, Samuel crashed pretty hard. Knowing he is prone to febrile seizures, and not knowing if he still had something lingering, I was a little nervous on the flight from Atlanta to San Juan.
But he slept well, and all seemed to be good.
Off the plane and into our rental car, we made our way to Aquatika, the condo where we would be staying. And I can tell you, our first impression of Puerto Rico made it feel like we were in a different country.
Many of the roads are narrow, some have no dividing lines, and there are not always the road signs and markers we are accustomed to in Georgia.
That was not the only thing we noticed. In Google Maps, I had it set to avoid tolls. This took us onto back roads that showed us the countryside, which appeared impoverished in many of the areas we drove through.
There were malnourished dogs roaming the streets, small concrete homes, very skinny chickens and the occasional non-pastured horse — which will walk right out into traffic.
Ask me how I know.
This lack of regard for personal space in travel ways seems to be fairly common on the island, which is something we had to get used to.
By the time we got to our room that Sunday, we felt shell-shocked.
But the place we were staying was amazing, and we quickly made our way to the pool, where Eliyab and Samuel had a big time. Just as we thought the relaxation was about to begin, though, Samuel had two febrile seizures.
And they were bad.
Our doctor had advised us what to do if he didn’t come around and how long to wait before involving EMS. Thankfully, Sammy woke up right on time and was ready to hit the pool again. We had no other issues thereafter.
But the next day, we just hung out around the condo to recuperate.
Tuesday, we did something very cool.
We visited Old San Juan, one of the oldest European-established cities under the American flag.
Old San Juan is perched on a hilltop overlooking the blue ocean waters. Christopher Columbus arrived in Puerto Rico in 1493, and the Spanish began building the massive fortifications that still stand there centuries ago. We visited El Morro, and as we walked around the fort and through the city with its blue cobblestone streets, I kept singing the Pirates of the Caribbean theme song in my head.
It definitely felt like how they portrayed Port Royal in the movie.
Thursday, we visited one of Puerto Rico’s famous bioluminescent bays.
And that was really cool.
We took a flat-bottomed boat ride out through the mangroves, where we saw all kinds of wildlife, including some big iguanas, before making our way to Laguna Grande. There, we got to dip our hands into the dark water and watch the phytoplankton light up.
It looked like tiny bursts of blue glow-stick fireworks all through the water.
It was nothing short of magical.
The next morning, we went to El Yunque, the only tropical rainforest in the U.S. National Forest System. It is home to hundreds of plant species and is one of the most studied tropical forests in the world.
There, we saw towering rainbow eucalyptus trees, climbed to La Coca Falls, saw the chupapiedra fish and hiked out to the waterfalls of Juan Diego Creek.
Y’all, I got to swim under a waterfall in a rainforest with my whole family.
I sat there in that pool, looked up at the sky and thanked Yahweh for such an amazing experience. And I kid you not, no sooner had I finished those words in my heart than the cloudy sky opened and the sun shone directly onto my face through a hole in the canopy.
I know in my heart that was Him saying He heard me and, “You’re welcome.”
And like the water, the gratitude washed all over me.
Our final day was spent snorkeling in a tropical tide pool in Piñones, where we saw urchins, sea anemones, starfish, crabs, beautifully colored sea snails and all kinds of brilliantly colored tropical fish.
All of that within about 36 hours.
But my favorite part of this trip has been listening to my kids.
They have talked nonstop about how grateful they are that Yahweh provided us with these once-in-a-lifetime experiences. And they’ve talked about how blessed we are to be able to afford a trip like this.
Ashley and I both grew up poor. And as we have been on this real estate journey, one of the things we have wanted to do is raise children who are grounded, faithful and not what anyone would consider entitled.
And flying in this plane on our way back home, I feel a sense of accomplishment.
I’m grateful that our rentals allow us to do things like this. I’m grateful that Yahweh gave us this privilege and allowed us to experience it. But maybe most of all, I’m grateful that when I hear my kids talk about this trip, I don’t hear entitlement.
I hear gratitude.
And speaking for myself and Ashley, I’d say that feeling is very mutual.
Joe and Ashley English buy houses and mobile homes in Northwest Georgia. For more information or to ask a question, go to www.cashflowwithjoe.com or call Joe at 678-986-6813.