Losing it

When I ask Isabel how she is doing, being home and all after such a crazy month, she reports that she is well, hyper and hungry. She is on a diet, trying to lose the 5 pounds she gained from staying in her parents’ house. Now, back home without a dozen scheduled interviews, at least for a few days, she paints furniture and works on other home projects, cuts her hair (don’t ask), cuts Olivia’s hair (that turns out OK actually), and wonders, how am I going to survive the sabbatical I have planned for 2011??


So Isabel, home now for approximately three days, gives me this brief update:   
"I have been very hungry and I have lost exactly 26 oz. Walked the dog, came back home; the gardener had gone and I found the gate closed. No cellular (I forgot it in Chile). No one is home. Climbed a tree, crawled on the wall, jumped down and almost broke a leg.  Olivia on the other side was wailing.  Managed to get back on my feet.  
That night, when I told Nico what had happened, he asked me why I hadn’t opened the gate using the code, as we always do.  The truth is that it didn’t cross my mind. I am truly losing it."


Let’s hope not. When Isabel has a bad hair day I want to hear about it, and when that short lady climbs over walls that could easily be opened with a simple code, I definitely want to hear about it. I am going to keep stalking her and jotting down what I learn. Isabel inspires me, makes me laugh and sometimes makes me cry. Have you read Island Beneath the Sea yet? Stay tuned for October and beyond....