We had a good day together today. He likes to chill by my side while I do everything. I think he likes it because I talk to him and pay attention to him, even while I am busy doing something else. And he is an excellent helper too. He follows me everywhere... after I wash my dishes he helps me put my dishes away. When I hang my clothes on the line, he hands my my clothes pins. He loves to help. My favorite is watching him help Chepito herd the cows.
It's safe to say I've fallen for this kid. So you can imagine how it gets to me when I hear him crying outside my house at night. A few nights ago I heard him doing just that… and this wasn’t the first time. What happens is his family goes back to their house without him, which is on the other side of the dark pasture. That must make him feel so terrible and abandoned. They just leave him and forget about him. Why would you do that to your 3 year old? It's not just me right? That's not cool. He often has to find his way across the field without being able to see. He’s only a baby. When you’re a little guy like that I’m sure that big dark field feels even mas grande. And he gets lost out there in the dark and doesn’t know which way to go. And he could step in cow poo, and there are snakes. I hear him cry, walk out my door and find him standing out there. We walk to his house together with my flashlight. I would be scared walking across that field myself without a light.
And thank you for the toothbrushes mom and dad. Milton had a great time learning how to brush his teeth. He doesn’t communicate with words to clearly but I can tell he likes it. He comes to my door regularly now and points to his mouth. “Quiere cepillarse?” I say, and he nods yes. And we brush together and I sing that brush your teeth song that Aunt Jodi always sang to me when I was a kid.
Oh Milton. I’m glad I can be here for you. For the next couple years at least.
Paz y Amor.
P.S. I know... lately I have been a blogging machine. I am just making up for lost time while I was waiting to replace my mac. And I think I'm going to keep this purple Spanish computer after all. I am learning out to use it just fine... it's really kind of cool. I'm going to be grant writing and doing other work in Spanish one day anyway, so it's perfect that I am well equipped for that.
Last night I woke up at 1 am to some strange noises. There are some chickens that live on my front and back porch that make a lot of noise at night, but I didn't recognize the noise as them. The dogs were barking. I have been a little more nervous when I hear these noises at night ever since a volunteer friend of mine told me about two men trying to break into her house at night not too long ago. She blew her whistle and they ran away. But the story made me not want to sleep with earplugs in anymore. I want to be able to hear what's going on around me. So after laying there with wide eyes for about half an hour I slithered out of my mosquito net to bring my giant orange plastic whistle and my cell phone to bed with me. If I were at home in Texas I would've had the revolver. Maybe that's not very Peace Corps of me... but it's in my blood. Anyway, I finally fell asleep another half hour later. I woke up this morning and talked to Marinita about it. She said that Chepito was out there at 1 am because the baby cows were fighting with the new baby cow we brought in for the raffle. Ganging up on him. So ok, maybe I should chill out and not be so nervous when I hear things go bump in the night?
P.P.S. Quote of the day: "Some folks look at me and see a certain swagger, which in Texas is called "walking" -the W
Mija, I am so happy little Milton enjoys his new toothbrush. I love how Jodi's memory lives on even in the simplest of tasks. She probably is smiling upon the two of you every time Milton freshens his breath.
ReplyDeleteYour blogs are great! They keep me from feeling sad that you are in a far away land. I love you. I am proud of you. Keep doing good things.