Thunderstorm all night. It feels like rainy season, but the locals say it doesn’t usually start until end of May. Madi, who will not sleep through any storm, decided at 2 a.m. that she wouldn’t sleep on the upper floor. Knowing Cali would be mad if she woke up upstairs by herself, without being given the option to move, also came downstairs. Madi ended up on the couch and Cali ended up in a makeshift bed on two chairs. Not nearly as comfortable as their beds, but closer to us. Madi got eaten alive by…something. I should measure her bites, they may be Guinness-book worthy.
Cali didn’t have school today, so she only-childed it with us. Paul made Cali pancakes then we took a couple loads of laundry in to town. We had coffee while she iplayed (on her ipod). Paul had to go to Mayanet to print off his eticket. We did a little shopping, souvenirs he can take home for us. Then we went to the grocery store Chalos and Cali got a spice to put on her cucumbers. She has this cucumber dish at her friend’s house, and has wanted to make it for us for the past month. The spice is Adobo. When she first described it to us she said it sounded like Dumbo. Close enough. We found the seasoning and also bought a big lime. She was convinced it was the biggest lime in the world, the size of an orange. Oh so proud of her monster lime.
Next we went to the grocery store, but they didn’t have cucumbers. Paul said he would take Cali up to the market to buy them and also went for one last $5 haircut. While I was walking home by myself with the groceries, I ran into one of my friends. We ended up talking on the street, in a crazy construction zone for about an hour. We thought it was going to be a brief conversation, so we didn’t go to a better location. We simply kept dodging dump trucks and back loaders.
I tuked home with the groceries and almost tumbled out of a moving tuk to save Cali’s lime. We did that crazy turn coming off the bridge, at an angle. I had the four bags wedged between my feet, but one escaped and fell over. The groceries started to roll toward the open tuk door (they’re all open doors). Yogurts, butter, milk, and THE lime, all started sliding out the door. I lunged at the prized lime. Since it was the only round thing in that bag, it was traveling the fastest. I nearly fell out of the tuk. But I caught that sucker mid air, I tell you. My arm was sticking out the tuk with the lime and I almost kicked another bag out the other side. I startled my driver. Yes, it may have been dumb and yes I could have killed myself and orphaned my kids and yes I looked really really stupid…but I saved Cali’s monster lime. I never told her, in order to collect my parenting bonus points. Wait, do you get more points for not telling? No that’s random acts of kindness. So complicated. I think with your kids you tell because you need all the kudos you can get.
We did a lot of other errands that are too mundane to list here, although that ususally doesn’t stop me from doing so. We packed up Paul’s bags, he did one last workout at the gym. He’s going home with clean clothes and a fresh haircut, which always makes him happy.
Madi had a play practice after school that she hadn’t anticipated. She was at school until 5:30. She found out there is someone who may sponsor the play and he is coming on Friday to look at one of the rehearsals. Because of this, Madi can’t go to her sleepover across the lake, tomorrow night. She was deeply disappointed since she was going to see 1 week old kittens. She could have rescheduled the sleepover for Saturday night, but she already has another planned for that night. It’s rough.
It was a beautiful sunny day, until about 5pm. Then it started thundering. I’ll know not to bother putting the girls to bed upstairs, since there will be a mass exodus during the night, which will wake me up. I admit it–it’s all about my sleep preservation. The girls may as well start off on the couch and chairs. We are trying a new method of keeping the mosquitoes away, since the girls aren’t sleeping in their mosquito netting and Madi got chewed up last night. We’re using one of those coil things that I remember having in Haiti, every night by my bed. Don’t know if we have them in Canada, probably do. You burn them and they are usually pretty effective. I do wonder if one should be breathing in those fumes.
We went to a farewell party for one of Paul’s buddies at The Porch. He and his friend are sharing a shuttle tomorrow. I’m going along too so that I can pick up our passports from the VISA office. They’ve been there for a couple of weeks now. If something crazy would happen that I want to leave the country for immediately, I want those in my possesion. That’s why I going tomorrow and not waiting until the rest of the group goes in, in a few weeks to pick them up.
Paul got to say good-bye to about 6 people that he’s gotten to know, said good-bye to a few more on the way home. I think he may know more people than I do. How can that be when he’s only been here five weeks? Oh right, he’s a friendly extrovert and I’m not. I remember now. I like to think of it as specializing in smaller numbers.
After we went to the farewell party, our family went to Atlantis one last time. That restaurant has become the family favorite. Reasons are, 1. They play Bob Marley music in a loop and the girls now know the words to the songs. 2. There are various food choices for even my pickiest eater, who will remain nameless, Madi. 3. They have little private tables in the back in huts. 4. They have candles on the tables and we like to burn things while we wait for our food.
We also celebrated Paul’s birthday, which is on Tuesday. The girls made cards, and he received a few modest gifts we’d found here. One is a huge mug I bought at the pottery co-operative in Santa Catalina. He won’t have to get up for his second cup wiith this sucker–it’s generous.
I keep prepping Cali that we are saying bye to her dad for only a short amount of time. So we don’t need to do a big good-bye, a wee one will do. Hoping we can avoid huge volumes of weeping, but that’s her process. Can’t really mess with it.
Kier, I know you are reading these daily. Hope you are having a great experience in Honduras. We miss you and can’t wait to see the three of you soon!!