Turning the pages I fantasized about the life that the author described. Communing with family and friends. Finding life in each day working and playing in community. I found this book in a small local book store in Mystic CT when I was visiting my oldest son. This was two nights before hurricane Irene was scheduled to strike New England in September of 2011. The  autographed copy was on display at the register. With the title being: “A REAL LIFE, Restoring What Matters: Family, Good Friends and a True Community” It was an easy book for me to pick up. We had just signed a lease to live in a beach house for the winter on Tybee Island. It was one week before our scheduled yard sale…to sell everything I owned. I yearned to experience what the title of this book promised. The author, Ferenc Máté described the perfect size and conditions for community life. I could not help but to dream about Tybee Island and imagine that our new hometown would fit his description. What would it be like to work and live in the same town? To be able to walk where you want, buy food locally, or better yet catch and grow your own? Having neighbors, family and friends close enough to partake in daily life together? At this point it was all just a dream.

Earlier this week, I experienced just such a day. (One of many since we moved here.)  Sean’s brother and family were visiting from Florida, as the kids were happy to play in the rain with their cousins, I got a call from a dear friend, Natalissa. She was calling to see if Sean wanted to go fishing with her husband Dave. This would be Sean’s second time surf fishing. Within an hour we were at the north end of the island and the guys were casting their lines. The ladies decided to get a quick mile walk in for some exercise. Before too long, the bucket had a few fish in it and we were packing up in the rain. We picked a time to reconvene for dinner on our deck that overlooks the ocean. A few hours later the coals were red as we prepared a feast. Local cucumbers, tomatoes and corn were ready for our salads. Life stories and laughter soon filled the deck as we all continued to know each other deeper. Sean and I laughed as we were filling our plates, we both said at the same time, this is the ‘Real Life’ knowing each other was making reference to the book we both only dreamed of living out almost two years ago. Giving thanks to our God, we communed with our family and friends.
Looking for something new that satisfies your body, soul and spirit? I highly recommend a real life.