Moments felt like home this week.
I didn't feel at home here, but the moments were home moments.
Early morning moments were spent in the kitchen. Learning from the ladies in the cafe, often following too close behind Pii Nook and asking too many questions. Laughter made us tear up after misunderstandings were understood.
And, as with any moment worth remembering, food brought us together.
There were hours of moments spent peeling potatoes. My poor mom… how many times has she heard, "peeling potatoes is my least favorite job!"? But not a word of complaint left my mouth in the moments here…funny what a few thousand miles and the perspective of "ministry in all things" will do to a tongue.
We shelled garlic cloves and for a moment I was with my sister. She taught, me years ago, about swallowing garlic at the first sign of a sore throat. My heart yearned for a fall morning on the farm with my favorite ladies, sharing our wisdoms, our sorrows, and our current favorites… our hands wrapped around warm coffee on the front porch.
There there was the moment I was handed a newspaper and told to wash the windows. Immediately, I was eight again. Watching in shock as my mom used vinegar and newspaper to wash mirrors and windows, the familiar blue stuff being left under the sink. The familiar comfort of a childhood smell attaching itself to memories as I de-smudged to Cashin Standard.
Saturday's lunch was spaghetti, served on rice noodles of course. But I shut my eyes, and it was beef-a-roni served by my great gramma. A moment I desperately wish my little sister were here to have experienced with me. We would have locked eyes across the table, thinking the exact same thought, and then laughed until our sides hurt…
With every moment of the week Thai filled the air, and my mind race in Spanish. I got lost inside my head, carrying on entire conversations with myself. I pretending to understand what was being asked of me and replyied with silent Spanish. I thought of sweet Beatriz, our Costa Rican kitchen mom, and how my dad makes her laugh with his broken Tico-talk…
Week six moments made me thankful for home.
