A Very Happy Meeting

I am posting this later than I would like but I had a busy shift in the hospital on Sunday. Here's the story: dh, ds and I had a very happy meeting with G and her family early Saturday evening. We planned to meet at 4 that afternoon, but ds took a late nap and we got off at 5 pm. I was in one truck with ds and dh was in another following us. I had directions that seemed clear, but it got dark early and there were few street signs, fewer street lights, and street numbers were only occasionally evidenced on the side of old, dilapidated mailboxes. For almost an hour we were very lost on a seemingly endless number of back roads, climbing up icy dirt paths. My only recourse was to look for direction from one of the various isolated trailers showing some vestige of life. One family raised my hope when, upon seeing my headlights, they came out of their door, waving to me, only to dash it when they said, "Are you here about the birds?" Finally, one kind woman pointed us in the right direction and even guided me with a flashlight as I backed out of her narrow, ice-covered driveway. Dh, who had been a little underwhelmed by the idea of giving G mostly hand-me downs, said it was at this point that he felt like we were offering a real gift because of the crazy adventure we went through to get to her.

As we crept up G's driveway, still unsure of where we were, and she came out of her trailer waving to us, I felt like breaking into song. She quickly ushered me and ds into the house to get warm while her husband and mine brought everything in. She and her children sat wide-eyed and exclaimed happily over every little thing. In addition to all the furniture and baby articles, I was able to give her $200 in gift card money that friends and family contributed for groceries and anything else she needs for her home. G and I both couldn't stop smiling as we chatted easily about the recent births of her and her daughter's baby.

Ds delighted in playing with G's toddler son as we visited. I learned G's husband is from Guerrero, the Mexican state where I lived for 6 months. It is there that I sampled many a delicious bowl of pozole. If you didn't note in a previous post, pozole in a hearty Mexican corn and pork stew, that is found throughout Mexico. Because of its time intensive preparation I don't think you'll ever find it in a Mexican restaurant here in the States (that and the fact that the broth is made with some rather undesirable cuts of pork, but that's another story). It is so popular in Guerrero that Thursday is known as "el dia del pozole" in the cocinas (woman-run kitchens where I would eat lunch everyday) found on every street in town. I told the family about my plans to have a pozole party next week - and they asked who was going to prepare it! I laughed and said it may not be like their mama's, but I thought I could pull off a fairly tasty dish and hoped they would enjoy it - and they are planning to come! I'll let you know how it comes out.

Last thoughts: below are the photos of the trucks filled with all the goods that my friends and family helped make possible. It's hard to put into words just how happy, how full of love and gratitude this experience has made me. I want to do more, find more ways to give, and I would love any input from you as I figure out what that will look like.