Living on Ocracoke

So what is my life like here on Ocracoke Island? Well, I live in a little wooden house, less than one-third the size of our house in Lewisville. And I do mean “wooden”! The ceilings are white but pretty much everything else is basically the same color of medium brown wood– walls, floors, most of the furniture. The yard is large, as yards go here on the island, but grass is sparse. There are lots of cedar trees, an old fig tree, a few live oaks. I have gotten used to life without a dishwasher and with a gas range. My pantry is the extra bedroom. (Interestingly, for the first time in my life I have an actual laundry room!) When a grocery run involves a ferry and at least 5 hours (if I hurry!), one plans ahead and stocks up. The local Variety Store has a lot of, well, variety! But prices are high and choices are limited. “Variety” means the number of different items available, not choices within categories! Fresh produce is limited and not always all that fresh.

School is less than three-quarters of a mile away; I drive most days because lately it has been too windy and/or wet and/or cold for the golf cart or walking. The entire school has lunch at the same time and most of us go home. I have never been able to do that before! Hooray for leftovers! So I get to school early and then, yes, for the first time in my life I leave when the school day is over! For most of my career, I went in early, left late, and took on all the extra tasks. Now, I do everything I need to do to help my students be successful, but enough is enough! Hey, the beach is calling me.

With the shorter days of winter, I generally walk until sunset and then come home to make dinner. Since my children have been out of the house for years and Rick has always worked evenings, this is not much of a change. While I have made lots of friends here and there are plenty of people I could call on if I needed to, they mostly have families here and things they have to do. I don’t mind the solitude, but I guess you could say I am “set in my ways.” I walk, cook and eat dinner while watching the news and Jeopardy, maybe do some laundry, read, … and yes, I feel sort of guilty that for the first time in nearly 35 years I am not responsible for anybody else’s dinner/laundry/day! Which is not to say I don’t wonder about and pray for all of those for whom I used to be responsible!

Life is different on Ocracoke in the winter. Quieter, calmer. My schedule is not that much different, except that I don’t get to walk as long because of the shorter days; but it is still somehow different. One of the first things I noticed is that I can hear the ferry horn from the house and from school. There is always one long blast upon departure; but whether it is climate or crowd, we don’t always hear it in the busy seasons. The beach is even less crowded; often I walk for an hour or longer and do not see another soul. Traffic of all kinds–vehicle, golf cart, foot– is sparse. Even on warm days, the wind can be fierce. But I have always been a person who loves the seasons and all the changes they bring. So Ocracoke in the winter suits me just fine.

And this season of my life also suits me just fine. It isn’t perfect, but neither am I.