Hi, friends, familyâŚanyone interested to hear the âother sideâ of our story đ
Where to start...?!
Iâve never blogged before, but journaling has always helped me process my thoughts & feelings...canât be that much different, right...?
I want to share some of those with any of you curious to hear...& might even include some picsâŚto brighten up the page âşď¸
Visiting a majestic waterfall or some amazing Mayan ruins or watching your kids happily splashing in the pool...& then posting pics feels like a bit of a shamâŚwhen youâve spent the last 2 weeks being so sick with a parasite, youâre rushing your kids or yourself to the toilet every 20-30 minutes...ugh...đ¤˘
âŚwe need to be more transparent! I speak for myself. I have so much respect for honesty & vulnerability. And hearing about what others are going through, the hard, often sad grit of life...the pain, the loss, the ongoing challenges, & for some extreme loss & grief đ
When we asked our server at the hotel last weekend, on day 3 of ordering our girls pancakes, âÂżComo estas?â the last thing we expected him to tell us was that his wife had just died last month. Tears welled up in his eyes, as he explained it was a health-related issue & she was only 57. We hardly knew what to say, especially with the language barrier, besides âÂĄLo siento!â He was such a kind man, always offering us a smile, even in passing. We would never have guessed he was in a season of such deep grief.
Often Iâve judged people for their responses to me, but then when I hear their storyââmy son just died....her marriage just ended...I had an abusive step-dadââI feel so convicted.
How can I ever know someone elseâs struggle? Empathy & compassion are gifts, even when we have no idea someoneâs story.
When we came to Mexico, some said âWowâI wish I could do that!!â or
âWhat a dream you guys are living!â
It was hard to hear some expressing what sometimes sounded like jealousy, when Iâd recently lost my job & weâd just sold so many of our things, including our cars, our home, & left all of the familiar, especially our support systems. But then I realized the photos Iâd been posting made it look like weâd come on an exotic vacation. Often our experiences here have been incredible, but the everyday âhardâ is what people canât see.
Iâve been thinking for a long time that I need to write about our life, including our struggles...the good, the bad, the hard. We love Mexico; so many things have been great here. But for me one of the hardest things is being in a place where I can speak just the basics of the language, but not really enough to go âdeepâ when I want to connect with someone Iâve been around awhile. And being so far from many I connected with more deeply at homeâthose walks with a friend, visits over tea, or catching up at a park while our kids play, even the moms Iâd regularly chat with at our girlsâ schoolâall those moments of connection, now a distant memory.
My âlife-lineâ is often messaging briefly with friends & family & the video calls we have once or twice a week. Prayer has become a much more regular habit, as I ask âShow me the way, Jesus...give me the strength I need, mentally, emotionally, etc. Help us give our girls what they need...Help our country. Be with those we love, as many struggle with whatâs happening there, & weâre in such a hard time as a nation...â
We have been incredibly thankful that Mexican people are almost all very friendly & welcomingâtheyâve never made us feel like âoutsidersâ & we have often been blessed by our hosts checking in on us, bringing us a bag of local coffee, once even little activity books for our girls đ
This morning we had no running water. It was a bit like camping. Here in Mexico, they have a âcisternâ on the roof of each home. Once the repairman came, we found out that the pump wasnât working because of an electrical issue, & thankfully he fixed it. Tap water here isnât safe for drinkingâyou have to buy it purified...& we learned the hard way last month that you canât refill it at just any place. So, after a week of trying to get over what seemed to be a parasite, we realized weâd probably been consuming water from a less-than-pure âAgua Puraâ refill shop, & had even continued to after starting our first round of meds đ ...so we changed our water source, & went on more meds, which finally took effect.
We are very reliant on having a good host these days. Someday soon maybe we can buy a property, & be more self-sufficient...if we can get residency, which is pretty complicated, especially if we canât go back to CanadaâŚ& get out again! We know that getting residency & buying a property will come with their own sets of challenges, & life anywhere is full of them.
Everyday has its own joys & trials đ
âYour Heavenly Father knows what you need. Seek first His kingdom & His righteousness, & ALL these things will be given to you as well. Do not worry about tomorrow...each day has enough trouble of its own.â
Matthew 6:33-34
It is true that some of our 'stuff' cannot be sold but we take it wherever we go. Allowing the things that happen to us to teach us happens here, and it happens there and it happens everywhere! Hello and glad you're all feeling better from your Toastmasters D96 Division D Tribe! Thank you for sharing!
I admit - I was jealous at first. It is really interesting to read what you have really been going through. It sounds as though you are planning on staying there, if you are talking about buying. I have a friend that has been living in Veracruz for about 10 years now (came from the States) & has her residency. If you think she could be of any help to you, I will contact her and see if she would be interested. She basically taught herself the language and has helped instruct some of the local young Mexican kids with their lessons. Her husband was with her up until a couple of years ago when he passed away. She is about my age, but a former nurse, very intelligent and is constantly adopting stray dogs.