Yoga Girl

He came running after me. “Hey! I get off in twenty minutes and I was
going to go catch some waves. I know we don’t really know each other,
but do you want to come?”
“Yes,” I said. “I do.”
Four and a half years later I said, “I do,” to a whole different kind of
question, but this time in front of our friends and family, barefoot, wearing
a white dress. Dennis’s hair is still messy and he still has that curious look
on his face most of the time, and we now live together on the north coast
of Aruba with our dogs. It’s been quite the ride getting here! After
spending only five days with Dennis while I was in Aruba on vacation, I
went back to Costa Rica, where my best friend immediately told me I
needed to return to Aruba. I had found the love of my life and everyone
around me could tell! Before I knew it I was on a plane to start the rest of
my life with someone I had known for just a few days. When you know,
you know!
Moving to a new country, leaving my house, changing my life, was
actually the easiest thing in the world. I’d never felt this comfortable with
any other person, and it was clear from the start that we were simply
meant to be with each other. We moved in together on the very first day
and have been living side by side ever since.
It was here in Aruba that I found stability for the first time in my life. I
no longer felt the intense urge to travel and to keep moving from place to
place. With Dennis I felt at home. It was also here, around this time, that
I started making the transition toward becoming a full-time yoga teacher.
I didn’t have a job or a work permit in Aruba, and I knew I didn’t want
to work in the evenings anymore. I didn’t want to waitress or have small
jobs here and there: I wanted to find something substantial and make it
my own. All I could think of was: I want to teach yoga. I’d taught yoga to
the people in the company I worked for the year before, and also a little
here and there to friends, but I’d never made it anything official. Now
here in Aruba with my whole life a blank page in front of me, I thought: I
can make this happen! I am in charge of my happiness. What kind of life do I