A day in the life
So I promise I will get back to my studies of the promises of God, but today was so uneventfully wonderful that I feel the need to tell you about it.
Just like any other normal day I woke up to the birds chirping, the dogs barking, the neighbor girl crying, and cool air biting my toes. One of my favorite parts of the day is heading downstairs bright and early to make my cup of coffee and return to the fresh air in my room to read and watch the sunrise all while savoring the first cup of coffee of the day. As the rest of the inhabitants of the house begin to stir we quickly have breakfast and head down the mountain to start another day. We first go into town to drop off Marielos at the market and the sound of buses and bells signaling fresh baked bread always brings a smile to my face. Downtown is crawling with people coming into town with goods to sell and heading out of town to work as well as many locals stopping to have a cup of coffee with a friend. We head to the church and two hours seem to fly by. It is time to cook.
Today I felt especially connected to my two coworkers. I really cherish the hours I get to spend with them in the kitchen most of the time listening to stories of joy, heartbreak, and what it is like to grow up and now raise their own families in this country. I love hearing the stories in the voices of people that I know and love and that have had their own experiences first hand. The stories are raw and honest and I feel more and more connected to them. I am able to laugh and celebrate as well as lament about the struggles of the current times.
This brings me to the kids. As I have said earlier, I try to pray for them every day as they arrive. I don't know what every kid faces when they are not at the CDI, but I do know that most of them live a life I have never even had to think about because of the many privileges I have enjoyed. Today, amidst the chaos of every child wanting my attention at the same time instead of feeling frustrated or annoyed by them I instead felt annoyed with myself. I am annoyed that I only have one set of eyes and one set of hands. These kids deserve the world and I want to give it to them. For a really long time I never thought I wanted kids, but now I feel like I have 40 and I love them all so dearly. I want to give them the world and I can't. In fact I can do almost nothing, but what I do have to offer is love and I am committed to loving them as best as I can. Each afternoon as I watch them leave I make a point to try and give each child a hug or kiss and greet their parent. Then I have to trust God to love them until tomorrow.
Normally we head up the hill right after the kids leave, but today was different. We headed downtown to buy some fresh fish, and I couldn't help but smile as we headed up the sidewalk and the view opened up to a picture of the swell crashing on the shore and the smell of salty air and fresh fish made it's way to my nose. We passed by the many outdoor restaurants on our right full of people enjoying the fresh catch of the day and mariachi bands entertaining patrons, all the time with the sea breeze coming off of the shore to our left. After making our purchases we headed back toward the street and, characteristic of small town life, we ran into my host mom's sister as well as a friend at the church. This is something I grew up with and again found myself smiling at how much like home it feels running into familiar faces around town.
Upon arriving at home we proceeded to cook our recent purchases and made a phenomenal "mariscada" which is basically a bunch of different shell fish and fish in a broth. So good. I really enjoy spending time with the family in the kitchen and around the table laughing, joking and sharing the days experiences. To finish off my dinner I had a few pieces of fresh mango and papaya to satisfy my sweet craving after dinner.
I don't know why but this day made my heart so full and content. I felt like there is no place I could image I would rather be this side of heaven.
Standing in awe of the extraordinary ordinary,
Sigourney
P.S. Thank you for indulging my need to talk about basically nothing.
P.P.S. Please leave comments!
Just like any other normal day I woke up to the birds chirping, the dogs barking, the neighbor girl crying, and cool air biting my toes. One of my favorite parts of the day is heading downstairs bright and early to make my cup of coffee and return to the fresh air in my room to read and watch the sunrise all while savoring the first cup of coffee of the day. As the rest of the inhabitants of the house begin to stir we quickly have breakfast and head down the mountain to start another day. We first go into town to drop off Marielos at the market and the sound of buses and bells signaling fresh baked bread always brings a smile to my face. Downtown is crawling with people coming into town with goods to sell and heading out of town to work as well as many locals stopping to have a cup of coffee with a friend. We head to the church and two hours seem to fly by. It is time to cook.
Today I felt especially connected to my two coworkers. I really cherish the hours I get to spend with them in the kitchen most of the time listening to stories of joy, heartbreak, and what it is like to grow up and now raise their own families in this country. I love hearing the stories in the voices of people that I know and love and that have had their own experiences first hand. The stories are raw and honest and I feel more and more connected to them. I am able to laugh and celebrate as well as lament about the struggles of the current times.
This brings me to the kids. As I have said earlier, I try to pray for them every day as they arrive. I don't know what every kid faces when they are not at the CDI, but I do know that most of them live a life I have never even had to think about because of the many privileges I have enjoyed. Today, amidst the chaos of every child wanting my attention at the same time instead of feeling frustrated or annoyed by them I instead felt annoyed with myself. I am annoyed that I only have one set of eyes and one set of hands. These kids deserve the world and I want to give it to them. For a really long time I never thought I wanted kids, but now I feel like I have 40 and I love them all so dearly. I want to give them the world and I can't. In fact I can do almost nothing, but what I do have to offer is love and I am committed to loving them as best as I can. Each afternoon as I watch them leave I make a point to try and give each child a hug or kiss and greet their parent. Then I have to trust God to love them until tomorrow.
Normally we head up the hill right after the kids leave, but today was different. We headed downtown to buy some fresh fish, and I couldn't help but smile as we headed up the sidewalk and the view opened up to a picture of the swell crashing on the shore and the smell of salty air and fresh fish made it's way to my nose. We passed by the many outdoor restaurants on our right full of people enjoying the fresh catch of the day and mariachi bands entertaining patrons, all the time with the sea breeze coming off of the shore to our left. After making our purchases we headed back toward the street and, characteristic of small town life, we ran into my host mom's sister as well as a friend at the church. This is something I grew up with and again found myself smiling at how much like home it feels running into familiar faces around town.
Upon arriving at home we proceeded to cook our recent purchases and made a phenomenal "mariscada" which is basically a bunch of different shell fish and fish in a broth. So good. I really enjoy spending time with the family in the kitchen and around the table laughing, joking and sharing the days experiences. To finish off my dinner I had a few pieces of fresh mango and papaya to satisfy my sweet craving after dinner.
I don't know why but this day made my heart so full and content. I felt like there is no place I could image I would rather be this side of heaven.
Standing in awe of the extraordinary ordinary,
Sigourney
P.S. Thank you for indulging my need to talk about basically nothing.
P.P.S. Please leave comments!
You so eloquently described each moment of your day that I could visualize it all in my head. It was like some scene from one of those super meaningful movies. The ones that really make you think about your life. You were right, it wasn't just an ordinary day. It was filled with the extraordinary glimpses of concepts that make up our existence: joy, heartache, peace, business. You connected to every human emotion in some way during your day. You brought me into your world and helped me experience your life in a greater way. This was beautiful. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your comment! Sadly I don't know who you are! If you have a google account you can log in before commenting so your name is there, or if you don't or don't want to I'd still love to know who's commenting!
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