Was it Christmas?

After my mom died in March, I knew that this year and this year's holidays would be very different. I had anticipated the change and suggested to my sister that we go out of town for Christmas this year. I had two motivations for this request. One, I didn't want us moping around and sad because mom was not there. Two, I wanted to start new traditions that would allow us to heal more fully from the loss of our mom.

My sister is an extraordinaire vacation planner, so she started researching the perfect place for us. She and her boyfriend have always loved traveling to Cancun and knew they wanted something beachy and perfect for the coldness this holiday would bring. We were on a group trip to Red River, the one we planned to take mom on, when we sat down and made the decisions! We landed on a great place, Isla Mujeres, a small island off the coast of Cancun. I was so grateful that we weren't staying at an all-inclusive overcrowded place. No shade, but that isn't my thing. I love to visit places, immerse myself in the culture, eat where the locals do, and find little adventures that bring fun-surprising experiences.

This meant we all had to get our passports up-to-date. My sweet little girls didn't have one, and mine was outdated. We got that taken care of in August, and the process was smooth, and we got them about a month later. The girls were so excited. They didn't know where we were going, but they knew there would be a beach and ocean. I swear my girls are fish, and they love anything that involves water. The best part was our Airbnb had a pool right on the property. I know that is precisely where they would be when we weren't in the ocean.

The anticipation of the trip helped me with my grief. That was not something I had anticipated the trip would have for me. My coworkers are the best of the best. Work was hectic this year, which helped me channel my grief into something else that was a positive effort for me. We had an outstanding campaign, but the workload was a lot. So this Christmas, I realized how much I needed to disconnect and rest my head and soul.

THEN, December 20th came, and we got up at 3 am to get to the airport and our first flight of the day. There was a natural feeling of electricity in the air. It helped that the week we were going, an anticipated polar blast headed our way! We were all just giggly and silly throughout the entire day.

We landed in Cancun and dashed for the ferry to take us to the island. I was so grateful that my love, Solomon, could come with us! He's such a trooper and was soaking it all in. We made it to our Airbnb after a little hiccup finding it without cell service. The girls put on their swimsuits and got in the pool immediately up the stairs to a PERFECT deck with a pool and a glass folding door into our living room for the next few days.

We were instantly at home and relaxed, our patio overlooked the beautiful blue ocean, and we just started tearing up thinking of how much mom would adore this place. We ran to get snacks and the island accouterments... aka beer! You drive everywhere on the island in a golf cart, so you can imagine how that went with our suitcases. As we drove to the snack shack, I immediately fell in love with the place. It was quaint but full of life! The house had a rooftop deck, and the restaurant behind us played incredible music. We watched the sunset over Cancun.

Adventure!

Each day we set out to have a fun adventure! On the first day, we found impeccable beach access with shallow water where we could wade in the water to play volleyball, kayak, and jump off a ledge. The best part was the pools up on the upper decks with slides and just fun for the girls. We were there all day and just enjoyed ourselves. The next day we got up and walked across the street to a little place called Garrafon Castilla. We paid the entry fee and walked down to a fun place; when you get into the water, there are schools of fish. I'll admit I was a little taken aback because there was a school of 200+ fish around me. It just took me a minute to see that they were curious and harmless. There were some coral and fun little places to snorkel and see fish over 24" long. The girls collected shells and little pieces of dead coral and barnacles. We enjoyed our time and ate amazing nachos and fish tacos in the sand. The next day we got up early and got down to the harbor to get on a 40' catamaran. It was the only excursion we had booked, and I was excited to snorkel in the protected coral. I could tell Solomon was very anxious when we woke up. He isn't the most comfortable swimmer, so thinking about snorkeling in some deeper water was very unnerving. On the way to the coral, all nine of us just enjoyed the time in the net relaxing as the fantastic staff gave us the best service. The time came to get into the water, and we all put on our flippers, got our goggles and snorkels ready, then got fitted for our life jackets. I was busy with the girls and didn't see Solomon jump in, but my sister retelling it was magical. He jumped in, went under, and came up with a deep breath and a huge smile. My sister said it choked her up because she knew it was a huge jump for him. We snorkeled and saw some fantastic things. Then we saw a blue tang in the wild, and Finley, my youngest, said, "DADDY, it's DORY in the wild!" It was a magical moment that I will never forget!

Food!

Some of the best food I've ever had was on this trip. The best thing about not being on a resort is we got to eat where the locals do and could go on culinary adventures. The first stop was a literal hole-in-the-wall place with the best ceviche I have ever had. Everything was so fresh and clean that the food was just so flavorful. We found an

Italian restaurant called De Nuccio's on the Caribbean! Everything was homemade! The owner came out and gave us a little bit of their story. The couple had retired in Connecticut and moved to the island. "Do you like those meatballs? That's my grandmother's recipe." I am not sure I can ever have regular non-homemade noodles again. Then the final night was Solomon's birthday, and I wanted to go somewhere special. I settled on Samura, a Japanese steak house. I know it seems weird to have these regional and cultural places on this little island in Mexico, but every execution of these places felt like we were in a vast American city with 4-star chefs. Like almost every restaurant, Samura was set on the outside and inside, and it was seamless. The food was terrific. We didn't have a lousy plate anywhere. I had called De Nuccio's to get the white chocolate raspberry cheesecake to celebrate Solomon's birthday. The restaurant delivered a beautiful cake, another of her grandmother's recipes. It was extraordinary, and cheesecake is Solomon's favorite dessert, so he was thrilled. It was a special night, just as special as Solomon is.

It wasn't the holiday I had in my past, but it showed me how new traditions mixed with timeless ones could help me grieve. It didn't feel like Christmas, but it would never be without mom. It was the best, most relaxing vacation I have ever had. Watching my girls explore the culture and see new-exciting experiences that I know they will never forget. Mom would have loved this trip after she calmed down from the anxiety-inducing idea of leaving the country. We will be back Isla Mujeres, and we can't wait to see what else you offer our clan!

vaya con Dios

-broc