I am enjoying a quick lunch break in my car. Gray apartment towers surround me and I admire the impressive tag graffiti on the community center where I am parked. I am annoyed having forgotten my phone at work.

Unable to check messages, email, or omnipresent news feeds I look for other distractions. A city bus pulls up and a lanky youngster rolls off, baggy sweatpants and running shoes inappropriate for the frigid temp. Yet a toque dons his head and his face is safely masked. My inner curmudgeon grunts approval.

What happens next causes me to slop coffee all over myself.

He does a jumping squat. On an empty, ice-encrusted sidewalk. And then he does another one, each progressively higher, stronger. His determination is palpable and I wonder what is coming next in this performance art du jour.

Then it happens: a beautiful, gravity-defying pike jump. The first attempt causes him to stumble back but failure is not an option for this guy. Again and again he jumps until a perfect leap and touch are executed. Satisfied, he saunters off as if pike jumps are what all Canadians do to stay warm.

If my window hadn’t been frozen shut, I would have rolled it down and screamed my praise and admiration.

I wonder what this athletic artist dreams of becoming. For what end does he practice? Will he succeed?

Speaking of dreams, my own version of a perfect pike jump came true this week. I met an author whose book changed my life.

Happier Than a Billionaire

In 2017 I was struggling mentally and physically. Teaching was exacting a toll on my health in unexpected ways. I had already dealt with one bout of cancer years earlier and I intuited that if I did not make some major changes, I might be up shit creek again.

Serendipity brought Happier Than a Billionaire by Nadine Hays Pisani into my crumbling life. It was a turning point for me and the start of the life pivot that took another two years to fully execute. It takes time to swim to the surface and see light again. It takes even longer to realize that this is even possible.

In Happier Than, Nadine recounts the major changes she and her husband made when they were busy chiropractors wondering what the heck they were doing with their lives. She outlines, with raw honesty and humor (imagine Baby Toe Blues X1000), how they throw caution to the proverbial wind, sell up and move to Costa Rica – a move that left others wondering if insanity ran in the family.

How did my parents handle the news? I would have received a better response if I’d told them I was interviewing for the senior operative position in Al Qaeda…everyone is angry with me, especially my niece who threw a Sesame Street sippy cup at my head.

Nadine Hays Pisani

I guffawed out loud from the opening sentence. I cried too. Dave thought I was having a stroke and rushed into the room. Apparently the noise I was emitting did not sound like laughter to his ears; it sounded like the gurgles of a dying person.

Even if moving to CR is not your plan, I guarantee you will laugh your head off reading about the antics of her husband (I re-read it recently, and howled louder than the first time). The main takeaway is not necessarily about moving to CR; it is about acknowledging the lack of joy in your life and doing something about it – in a perfectly imperfect way, like any true adventure.

We did what most reasonable, educated people would do when considering buying property in a foreign country…we forked over our hard-earned money for a deed in Spanish, a deed that could easily have been for an ice cream stand in El Salvador. Except for stealing my dad’s Eldorado when I was seventeen and crashing it five minutes later, I had never done anything as irresponsible as this.

NDH

Much has happened in my life since I read Nadine’s book. I have learned that change takes mucho time and patience. It is not smooth sailing. It is hard work. It doesn’t always turn out the way you expected and thank goodness for that.

Cabina del Karma

This week, a tiny cabina for sale in Costa Rica crossed my path in the most unexpected way. This has been a dream that Kel (BFF of 40 yrs) and I have often talked about. This property did not work out for us but going thru the process rekindled a li’l beach flame.

I thought about Happier Than and did a quick search to see what Nadine was up to. Lo and behold, she had started a consulting business. Could this be an opportunity to meet Nadine (via Zoom)?

I emailed. She responded. A date and time were set. I was cool as a Costa Rican cucumber.

Nadine and I spent 75 minutes together. She was just as I had imagined: authentic and funny, ready to share what she had learned so we would not repeat her mistakes. I told her how much Happier Than meant to me. I thanked her for writing it. I was trying hard not to cry so I smiled broadly, squinting my eyes to clear away the tears. It felt dream-like. After all, her book had thrown a lifeline to one tired swimmer.

We talked about the plan for a little CR rental property in the future. Her advice was priceless – Kel and I may actually be able to pull this off. I wasn’t sure how Dave was going to react to all of this, but a little cabina in CR pales in comparison to my threat in 2019, that once I left full-time teaching, we would be forced to sell up and move to Nicaragua. He is good with this plan.

…And So This Means What Exactly?

You never know what you will see if you forget your phone. You never know who you will meet if you just dare to dream. If you don’t play your part, then who will? Thank you Nadine, for playing your part.

Costa Rica Dreamin’, on such a winter’s day.

GIVEAWAY WINNER!!

Congratulations to Mike! I will be in touch to see what book you have chosen – and yes, Happier Than a Billionaire is definitely one of the choices. Thank you everyone for entering!

Big thanks to my neighbor Jamie who pulled the winning name – Dave told me there are easier, higher-tech ways, but there is something about putting names into a toque and having someone make the draw that just feels right for a good karma cabin draw.

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