Non-Typical Campfire

The other day we went to Hallowed Hawk Farm – Eric and Kerrie are good friends with farmers/owners Dory and Miguel. They were going for a cookout to the farm and invited Norm and I to tag along.

What was planned:
Dory and Miguel were providing tuna steaks, salad and munchies (olives, cheese, avocados, plantain chips). Kerrie and Eric were providing burgers and buns. We were providing s’mores fixings. We were going to have a great night by the campfire chatting and laughing and everything that goes along with it – like possibly scary stories and peeing in the woods.

What actually happened:
We got to the farm and helped Dory pick blackberries and that was fun. As we walked up to the campfire/cookout area we started hearing thunder, looked up to the sky and noticed the dark clouds rolling in. Confident that the storm would go around us and determined to have a good time, we settled in.

Within 20 minutes the wind picked up, we pulled up the radar and saw that in fact we were in the path of a severe storm.

So we quickly gathered all the belongings into the cars and got in the cars to wait out the storm. About 15 minutes later – which involved the falling of quarter sized hail – the storm calmed down. The guys ran to the fire pit to save the burgers that had been left while we were waiting out the storm so we could eat.

It actually never stopped raining, so we huddled at the back of the cars to eat during the light rain. As soon as the rain picked back up, we went back in the cars.

While we sat in our car and Dory and Miguel sat in their car we figured: why not back up the cars to each other so we can still spend time together and chat? So we did:

And that’s how we spent the rest of the evening.

What ended up happening was nowhere close to what was planned – I don’t think we could’ve planned the unplanned scenario even if we had tried. The evening was perfect the way it was: all huddled underneath the old tarp surrounded by lighting that lit up the big sky as we wore our damp clothes.

Just like last night, quite often our lives play out differently than what we have them planned out to be. We are dealt cards, have to quickly figure out what the best play is and keep moving forward.

Unlike last night though, we often fight (and fight hard) the unplanned scenarios of our lives instead of being flexible, trusting and enjoying those moments. We get hung up on what things are supposed to be like instead of making the best of what the moment currently is.

Fifteen

Today, at fifteen years old, Juan Ma is half my age and I'm just about half his size.
Picture below us not the best of the two of us, but it works for what I am trying to show.

Happy Birthday Juan Ma!

Summer Fun

Summertime brings fun things like being outside in the 102 degree weather and fearlessly playing with water. 

The other day we were outside hosing off the backdoor rug and apparently providing entertainment for Cali:

Power Outage

Two nights ago we lost power. We are not 100% certain why this was - it had been storming on and off all evening, but we ended up loosing power and our friends down the street didn't. 

Needless to say, we grabbed the flashlight and lit some candles. Getting ready for bed with no power (and toting the candle around) reminded me briefly of growing up in Peru, when either the power towers would get blown up and therefore parts of the city end up with no power or scheduled power outages would be in effect due to electricity shortages. Back then, it was part of everyday life. Life had to go on (which involved doing homework and eating by candlelight... and not in the romantic sort of way), we couldn't stand around and wait for the power to come back on like we did the other night. Also, unlike the other night, when we lost power back in Peru we knew exactly what the reason was.

Pellet and Cali were quite confused... I wonder what was going through their little heads "if all lights are out, shouldn't we be sleeping? what's going on?" Here's a quick video!

Support

Unfortunately the situation at work continues down hill… right when we think we have hit rock bottom we get a rude awakening that we’re still on our way down. On that thought, Norm’s position was eliminated last week. He had a tough decision to make at the time and what came of it is that he is going to take the opportunity to move forward on his own. There is absolutely no reason to take a step backwards with this company because there is no future with this company.

What I have (and I’m still finding) interesting is the levels of support that people around us are (and are not) extending. Support has shown its face in various ways: whether it’s venting to friends over drinks, or listening to different points of views from older people, or a simple call that says “you guys are in my prayers” or a text that says “I’ve been through it, everything will work out” or a quick call to see how the job search is going.

Then there are people around us that pretend nothing is happening. No acknowledgement, no sign of care. They are moving on with happy-go-lucky-everyday life.

I want to go ahead and put out there that I am not expecting people to show support or sympathy. We are owed nothing. All I am stating is that:

1. The support given is meaningful and appreciated. Although the calls, texts and emails are purely emotional support (although we won’t turn down monetary support! joke!), they provide all the motivation and hope to keep moving forward.

2. I understand that through difficult times some folks shut down and are uncomfortable sharing their thoughts.

3. Although I have been guilty of not always providing encouraging words to those around me, I am learning that no matter how uncomfortable it is for me to say something to the one who is undergoing a hard time, the impact of my actions on the other person are going to be so significant that I just need to get out of my comfort zone for their sake.

To all those who are thinking about us, praying for us, calling us and being attentive of us – a huge thank you!

And thank you Pablo for posting a post that’s fitting like a glove during these times.