That’s right, I’m an aunt, but Philip had nothing to do with
it. Team Kaleo spent the last month in El Reten, a lovely little village on the
west side of Ecuador. The people there stole our hearts, and saying goodbye was
hard and tearful. One family in particular really became important to Brent and
me. They are a young couple with two tiny children and one on the way. The
little boy and girl took a liking to us and started calling Brent “Tio Brian”
and me “Tia Emilia.”
During every church service little Michael Jordan (yes,
that’s actually his name) would come sit in my lap. Every few minutes, just to
make sure I knew that he loved me, he would turn around and wrap his arms
around my neck and hug me. He would put his head on my shoulder and kiss my
neck and then turned back around to listen to the sermon. At least once during
every service he would reach up and whisper in my ear, “Tia, despues de la
iglesia, usted tiene que venir a mi casa y ver una pelicula conmigo” (Auntie,
after church you have to come to my house and watch a movie with me). Several
times I went to their house for the afternoon. It is such a place of peace, and
there is nothing better than turning the corner and hearing Michael scream, “Tia!
Tia’s here!”
The last night I went there to spend one more evening with
them. He took me up to the loft where he and his little sister, Betsy, sleep to
show me his room. I was sitting on the edge of his bed and he leaned to my ear
and whispered, “Tia, you don’t really need to leave tomorrow. You can share my
bed with me, that way you can stay here forever.” That pretty much tore me up.
When it was actually time to say goodbye the next day, their family, along with
the rest of the village, came to our house to see us off. As our truck drove up
I bent down and told him to give me a kiss goodbye and he said, “No, I don’t
have to because your car isn’t here.” I explained that it was here and that I
really did have to leave. “No Tia,” he said, “your car isn’t coming because I
broke it so that you’ll never leave.” But I did have to leave, and little
Michael Jordan did have to give me a kiss goodbye. His cuddles and love were
one of my favorite things about El Reten, and I already miss their family very
much.
Oh, and Philip, if you’re reading this, I’ve come to the
decision that your future children will not be calling me Auntie Em from the
Wizard of Oz as you previously decided. They are going to call me Tia.
