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| Lovely as this dress is, it does not match the beauty of Stephanie's... |
The excitement was building. On SATURDAY this is how it went:
I had been making every effort to catch up to the little neighbor
girls when their folks were home ALL WEEK...finally Norm saw they were all
home so I got dressed - I had already gone to BED! - and traipsed over with
Stephanie's little gift. She was on the sidewalk with her PINK roller
blades. She stumbled around getting up to the front door, where Latina Mama
Cruz met me/us...The family insisted I sit at once...Stephanie was so
engrossed in her roller blades that she did not appear to notice the pink
package I had for her. The WHOLE FAMILY gathered and I asked if it was
OK for her to have her gift now; I did not want to interrupt their dinner. Her
eyes just popped when I read for her the note on the Pocket Cross, the
candy, and the First Communion Greeting Card.
Then Daddy told
Diana to invite us to THE DINNER tomorrow. I accepted, of
course. Then I asked if I could see the First Communion DRESS!
Oh MY, out they trotted--the "bridal" dress, the shoes-HIGH HEELS, NO LESS!-the earrings, the veil, and all the pretties for all the family. EVEN GOODIES for THE
BABY, WHO IS NOW WALKING, even though his first birthday is months away.
Next thing I knew, Daddy disappeared into the kitchen. I presumed he was cooking. No. He brought out a GINORMOUS sack of organic chicken, skinned and boned! He told me how to prepare it using mustard. AND there was a package of sweet chicken sausage, also organic! Now as if THAT were not enough, he INSISTED I take a $20.00 bill for "all you have done for my children"...I just sat there and wept.
This dear, dear family is moving to another house and the girls BEGGED us to take them to school from the new address. I told them that if we did that, we would just bring all 3 kids to our house and they could sleep in the extra bedroom. They just laughed. Especially when I added that "then when your folks get home from work, we will kidnap THEM,TOO!"
Well, tomorrow should be interesting. Authentic Mexican food, photo shoots, a can of beer and three generations of a family who has invaded my heart! WOW. How could it get any better than THIS?
Next thing I knew, Daddy disappeared into the kitchen. I presumed he was cooking. No. He brought out a GINORMOUS sack of organic chicken, skinned and boned! He told me how to prepare it using mustard. AND there was a package of sweet chicken sausage, also organic! Now as if THAT were not enough, he INSISTED I take a $20.00 bill for "all you have done for my children"...I just sat there and wept.
This dear, dear family is moving to another house and the girls BEGGED us to take them to school from the new address. I told them that if we did that, we would just bring all 3 kids to our house and they could sleep in the extra bedroom. They just laughed. Especially when I added that "then when your folks get home from work, we will kidnap THEM,TOO!"
Well, tomorrow should be interesting. Authentic Mexican food, photo shoots, a can of beer and three generations of a family who has invaded my heart! WOW. How could it get any better than THIS?
SUNDAY...
We had been told there would be a phone call when the food was ready. They thought it would be 1 PM. Good, because that gave us time for a much needed nap prior to the festivities.
At 2 PM the phone rang. There were fresh instructions about where to go for the party, which had been moved for reasons not mentioned. We grinned, grabbed the cameras and off we went. We were told to watch for the crowd on 3rd Street and to listen for the Mexican music. It would have been hard to miss.
We were welcomed with hugs and kisses and seated at the dining table. A HUGE, overflowing plate of beef, beans, rice and salsa was presented to each of us, along with an adult beverage. Oh, but that food was delicious!
There were two little girls with white dresses, high heeled shoes, and veils. They showed us the gift they had received at church that morning and told us about the cake and cookies at the reception. They were giddy with excitement.
We made every effort to take proper photos but the camera was as cranky as a couple of the babies who needed naps. We deeply regret that those photos are NOT available.
The next door neighbors of our host family also came to share a meal. These were Gringos so we could communicate but my Spanish is pathetic. I think there was communication but not in words...it was more like the language of love.
We ate til we nearly burst and then made the rounds of the room with hugs. The Grandma, who is visiting from Chihuahua, Mexico, kissed both my cheeks and squeezed me til I squeaked. I think she is happy to know that her daughter and family have good friends. I squeezed her back because I love her so.
As we walked to our car, someone called out to us. Mario was hurrying our way with a GINORMOUS platter of food for us to take home.
The love, the generosity, the fun we enjoy by living next door to this dear and precious family feels wonderful. I would wish this for anyone anywhere.
Now we eagerly await the summer birthday parties for these three youngsters!
