"You Can Live Without IT"

"You can live without it" was my mom's mantra. Us three girls, growing up, we heard that about a gillion times. We didn't have a lot of money to spend on needless things but that didn't keep us from wanting it. Our mother would always silence the whining with "you can live just fine without it."

Well Mom, Thanks! Your words ring true in my ears nearly everyday living here in Costa Rica. I never dreamed just HOW different life could be.
Sure, you can almost get anything you want here in Costa Rica BUT
1. you have to know where to find it, and
2. you have to pay a premium for being able to get it here.

I have discovered there are SO MANY THINGS I can live without. Some of it is out of necessity. I do without because "things" are just not available in my area. It necessitates having to make a two hour, "doing the mountain", trip to San Jose and return on the same day. I just know, I'll live without it and improvise or modify. Most times, I do without just because I have to. It just doesn't exist here........ Pura Vida.

Mom died years ago but we credit her for teaching us how to get by on just faith. In her wildest dreams, I'm sure she never thought I'd move to Costa Rica but she was the one that planted that seed. One of her side-jobs was keeping books for a local citrus grower in S. Florida and he had orange groves in Costa Rica. He was teaching Costa Ricans how to grow Florida oranges. This was back in the 70's. I helped her with his bookkeeping and fantasized -
C O S T A R I C A.