The Terrific3 travel blog

Today was truly a day when I checked out (as much as possible) from parenting and took some much needed me-time.

We had our nanny from 7am to 2pm. We showed her around the hotel when she arrived and she had breakfast with the kids while I headed excitedly to the beach to run. I was so excited I ran 6 miles. Looking back, I haven’t done that in 3 months, since a month before my triathlon as at that time, I started pushing my biking and swimming mileage so cut back on long runs. It felt GOOD and it was HOT. And there were lots of walkers and bikers on the 4km beach path, but I was thankful to finally have a place to run after Ubud. Never take that simple thing for granted.

The boys were thankfully with the nanny, and they were being special with her too—lots of fighting, arguing and teasing, but I think they also had fun—collecting seashells on the beach, watching the waves etc. The downside of Apple Watches is that the kids texted me when they were having conflicts, but I was thankful to have space.

I already like Sanur way better than Ubud. The vibe is more family friendly, it is less crowded, and the people are friendlier in a less what-can-I-get-out-of-you way. There are still vendors trying to wave things in your face, but it’s just not as much. Plus….the ocean! This Pisces loves being by the ocean.

After my breakfast, I went back out to find a massage. Walked by a fancier place but they were booked until 5pm so walked by a simple beachfront set up with a table and this woman named Mary (spelling MARRY?) gave me a lovely foot and shoulder massage with a view of the ocean, and some ocean breeze blowing over me. She was probably in her 70s, had several grand children, and told me one of her daughters was married to an Indian man who she met working on a cruise ship. Told me all about her life and family. It was super sweet to make that connection. I asked her how business was and she said it depends on the day—sometimes she gets 1-2 clients, sometimes nothing, but that she can’t afford the rent for a brick and mortar place. I made a mental note to return to her a couple of times, and to bring more cash next time for a generous tip. She was quite good, all for the price of $6/hour, which is unbelievable. My right foot has been bothering me a lot, especially when I run—my plantar fasciitis mad that I’m running on concrete, and daily foot massages don’t seem to really help, but sure do feel good.

I walked around town a bit, got cash (you always need to plan in advance for cash as there are days I’ve been to 3-4 ATMs in a row to get cash as either they are out of money or simply out of order.). I went into the grocery store, there was a long line at the cashier’s and this older Australian woman was trying to get another cashier to open up a register. We joked about how things were just a different pace here. She’s lived here for 10 years but sometimes goes back and forth to Australia.

The kids had lunch with the nanny, and I took them over at 2. But I was SO tired, as I hadn’t slept well, then the long run in the heat, and I just let them watch TV for a couple of hours while I intermittently napped. So I really did check out! Haha!

We had dinner at a pretty bad Mexican restaurant and are now listening to live music by the ocean waiting for dessert (well I’m waiting and writing and the kids are playing pool—sometimes they do really get along!)

What’s on tap for tomorrow? I think I’ll give my running legs a break and try to swim an hour in the morning then head to a 90 minute vinyasa yoga class at a local studio while the nanny is with the kids. I feel like we’ve explored Bali enough, and now is time for pure relaxation and rejuvenation. It’ll be interesting to see how we all adjust to being back in Portland—I’m definitely feeling like it’ll benefit all of us to reintroduce other friends into our lives as it’s been a lot of together and family time 😜.