Life is good on this gorgeous azure-skied day with sweet-scented breezes, the hot, humid summer spent working in anticipation of days like this.
It’s funny how one starts feeling “ownership” of Puerto Vallarta after living here awhile. So I’m thrilled about showing it off to more than 200 million television viewers in 140 countries and the thousands of visitors who will watch the EMC World Cup held here December 12 - 15. Two-man teams from 24 countries will vie for the John J. Hopkins Trophy in this championship golf tournament.

Broadcast times in the United States are Thursday, December 12, and Friday, December 13, from 3 to 6 pm on USA Network, and on Saturday and Sunday from 4 to 6 pm on ABC. Even if not a golf aficionado, stay tuned for soul-stirring glimpses of the town that I know from your emails many of you love as I do.

Have you ever thought of getting some of your friends down here with you? This televised event is your chance to let them take a peek at the place. And who knows? Soon you may all be hoisting margaritas and swinging nine-irons here yourselves.
The town has spruced up for this prestigious event, but undoubtedly even more would have been done had workers not been sidetracked by Kenna-related priorities.

If you follow this column you realize I didn’t file last week, for which I apologize. I, too, got sidetracked – by my daughter’s health scare, which, thankfully, downgraded from life threatening to solvable. I was going to return to Canada to help look after her, the most important person in my life, and my grandchildren. But I’m so grateful to learn that with surgery she will be fine, and I can continue to live in this place I love above all others.
During the past 12 years I’ve had to leave for two stretches, and both times it was the right thing to do. But my longing for Vallarta was soul wrenching, and I was here every night in my dreams.

It’s hard to explain my strong desire to build a life in Mexico, and most people don’t understand, particularly those who’ve never been here. Stating the facts – like how hard it is to make a decent income as a journalist – certainly doesn’t do it. And it’s not that I don’t love Canada. It’s one of the world’s best places for quality of life, particularly my hometown of Toronto. And I actually like the change of seasons, albeit winter not being my favorite. But at the risk of sounding “New Agey,” Vallarta grabs at the essence of who I am and ignores the image I constructed. In other words, it suits my character. I thrive on no two days being the same, the unexpected to be expected. Life here is an adventure. I spent decades roaming the world looking for that, and now I’ve got it.

While I sometimes wish for a little more security, I wouldn’t change the way things are to be safe but bored. Admittedly, the realities of a more primal and spontaneous existence are sometimes very painful – I grieve for the treatment of homeless animals here, for instance. But being around those who see the world with childlike wonder is contagious, their “whatever will be will be” attitude much healthier and more life enhancing in the long run than my worn out “if I worry enough about it, it might not happen” approach. Underlying the café conversation of many an expatriate is the issue of relinquishing the illusion of “control” and having enough trust to go with the flow.

And you truly have to want to be lonely here to make it happen. Unlike in Canada, where culture and climate conspire to isolate, acknowledging others happens naturally – just one more way of celebrating the joy of being alive.

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions about what you’re reading, you’re encouraged to let me know at heather@mexmags.com.