As of tonight we will have been in Nicaragua for a week, and it has taken me this time to learn to live here again. I have been followed around for a week by my orange four-footed friend, we have had friends stop in to see us, Stephen spent two days with the mechanic getting our car fixed and we spent another 10 hours with him “paying” for his service by running him around Managua for car parts.
I am reminded that it is not about time but relationship. There is no making back to back appointments, relying on timeliness of those I interact with, or allowing my “to do” list to drive me- the closest I got was the two days that Stephen was with the mechanic, and I was able to close the gate and get out bags unpacked and house organized. I loved it, but am also aware that it won’t be my norm.
From the moment we arrived in the country, I started to see things I needed to write about. Some people in the US chided me about how my blogs came to an end while I was in Oregon. Life just seemed so normal; nothing that would be of interest to many of you.
In one week here, I found that I could write about the generosity of our friends the Butlers who picked us up at the airport at midnight, housed us for the night, gave us breakfast, made us cinnamon roll and then were willing to take us to Granada if our car would not start. It was touch-and-go, but we made it back to a clean house, an abundantly growing yard, and a waiting cat.
Or maybe at least part of our Anniversary celebration (2 years) on July 6, where we closed up the house, turned on the air conditioning and enjoyed no-work-only play for a day in the midst of four unpacked containers and two suitcases
I could have written about the rain we have had every day since we returned; it has kept it cool (high 80s with 95-100% humidity) and has been a welcome change from the heat of Oregon. Now that is really weird to say!
How in one of these rain storms I went for a walk and came upon Neem trees heavy with fruit. Just as I was wishing I had something to collect them in, I found a shirt and was able to use it to hold a couple pounds of seeds. I have been back several time, and now Stephen and I will be able to do some experiments on the processing of Neem. We have a friend who dropped off several pounds of dried seeds earlier in the week.
I could have also written about Enmanuel, Delilah, Theresa, Oscar, Alvaro, Roger, Yescanya, and many of our neighbors who have made up our welcoming committee! What a blessing to have our Nicaragua friends reaching out to us on our return.