Some nice things about our life Okinawa:  

Community.  Most of us don’t bother to fence our backyards (you buy it, install it, then move 1-3 years later and have to take it down… not worth it, usually!).  Any toys in your backyard are fair game to neighborhood kids.  So we play on water tables, jump on trampolines, swing in hammocks, and swim in pools with new friends and neighbors all the time.  

Climate.  (Sort of.)  It’s kind of like camp.  It’s hot and sticky, so everyone is always a sweaty mess.  It means hanging out in running clothes all day is ok, even if your doctor hasn’t cleared you to start running yet.  It means if your 3 year old is wet and muddy, so is everyone else, because it’s rainy season (though the seasons between rainy seasons don’t feel particularly dry, either…). 

Colors.  The rain, the jungle, the dramatic skies all give our days such a rich texture and make picking up my camera a joy!

I’ll revisit this list when the dislikes (bugs, rain, humidity, expensive flights…) start to pile up again.