There’s one in every crowd. You know what I’m talking about too. You always find that person that stamps on your heart and every time you go back to the place you know they will be, you find them. Well, this month, Omar has won that title for me.
Of course I have my favorite ladies. And there are little men that would melt your heart whenever you see them dance across the room. But Omar is different. Since the first day at the Senior Center, I noticed this little 5’2’’ man with his sneaky smile. If I could understand everything that is said throughout the day, I would assume everyone thinks the same thing: Omar is a pistol. I call him a firecracker and secretly, I think he understands me. He gets “sir!”ed a lot by me and I constantly have to tell him I’m watching him because he likes to stay up to no good.
Good news he can’t understand us, because for the first half of the month, I swore his name was Oscar. And therefore the team called him Oscar. I was always curious when he didn’t react. Hopefully he thought that was some nickname the Gringos had for him? Oops.
I don’t know why Omar has had such an impact on me. Maybe it’s because every day he tells me Feliz Cumpleanos and then immediately cracks the biggest smile because why would he say that if it ain’t really my birthday? Maybe its because we have a system and every time he blows me a kiss, I catch it and then throw it away.
But he also has a different side. If you didn’t know any better, sometimes you might mistake Omar for working at Mis Anos Dorados. He is always helping the others move their chairs and he joins the assembly line of lunch servers and is almost always the last to eat. Omar has a heart that emits light and joy, as well as determination and hard work. His good spirits make the laughs a little longer and the miscommunication a little funnier.
Omar represents ministry this month to me. Half the time I have no idea what Omar is saying to me, just like half the time I don’t know what the day is going to bring. But if you’ve got an attitude like Omar, one that is happy just sitting in the sunshine or happy carrying dishes, then everyday unveils treasures that otherwise may have slipped right by. I wish I could express all of this to this silly little man, but I think that is part of the race. You will never know how much somebody will affect you. I hope that I can be an Omar to somebody this year. Even though I’ll never really know, I pray that God can use me to be the light to others just like my loco amigo Omar.
