The Rainy Season in Ajijic

I have been putting a lot of photos on my blog lately and doing very little writing. Today I decided to sit down and write something. No photos. It is the rainy season. I have shown many photos of the thunderclouds and all the flowers and the green hills. So you know how beautiful it is here now. I haven't talked much about the social atmosphere except to say, There are only a few single men! Okay I admit it, I have been doing some complaining about that fact....

This is my first year to be here during the rainy season. I didn't know if I would like it or not. I like it, maybe even better than the winter season. I like the peace and relative quiet. Mexico is never quiet for very long. Always another celebration around the corner, or another parade. But with fewer Canadians and Americans around, the restaurants don't have as many customers. The Lake Chapala Society has few people at the coffee shop in the mornings. The grounds are beautiful and filled with blooming flowers and water lilies and hardly anyone is there. It is nice to sit in the gardens after a night of intense thunderstorms and rain. Everything is fresh and clean.

I have been doing a lot of reading. I was watching videos but my computer no longer plays video or music CDs. I need to have it fixed. And I need a new camera but I am not buying anything yet. I am still tied to a mobile home in the States that isn't selling. It is just draining my money. I hope the economy will turn around up there before much longer. Things are looking pretty grim right now. I feel fortunate to be living here where I can afford to have fresh fruits and vegetables and steak and free range chicken. I can afford to live here. I will not go bankrupt if I have to see the doctor. I can go out to dinner and not have to worry about the cost. Life is so much easier here. I cannot even begin to compare the differences between living here and living in the States. All I can say is that everyone I know, including myself, gets depressed when we have to go back to the States. For me, the biggest stress there is the sense of isolation. Everything has to be done by car. I feel surrounded by concrete and disconnected from nature. Life is simple for me in Mexico. I have few expenses and much freedom. I have good bus transportation. I have many friends. So who needs men anyway? They aren't in the States either. As women, we outlive the men. It is just a fact of life. At least here I have a support group of other single women. They are healthy, active, adventurous and friendly. I love to walk here. Beauty is all around me. The weather is nice, cool in the mornings and hot in the afternoons. Perfect swimming weather. Since I am mostly an outdoor person, the weather is a main concern for me. It is in the hundreds in my home town now. Too hot to do anything outside. I don't know what else to say about my life here except that sometimes when I am just going about my regular routine, this consciousness sneaks up on me. Every part of my being is affirming my life and my happiness. I just whisper to myself, I am happy. I have never felt like this in any other place. My son tells me that I have always been looking for a place where I felt like I belonged. I have finally found my place. I belong here. I have everything I need here. (Except for men, but who cares? They aren't in the States either.) Life is good. The rainy season is wonderful.