MozamWeek

The kids showed up within 3 minutes of our arrival. Kids on summer vacation left their dusty games in the sand, soccer kicking, and short errands from home. At 9 am, the sun was already high, and after a short 15 minute walk from where we parked the car, I wished I’d brought a bottle of water. Veronica and I greeted the kids and a few adults passing by. Smiles brightened while they talked of Veronica’s Christmas lollipops she gave them before her two-week vacation. There is an easy rapport between her and the kids... and the moms. They led me to the shade tree where they have been meeting a couple times a week for “classes”. It is a tiny spot just off the road. Too small to be anything except a resting place from the sun. Apparently it belongs to someone who plans to build something right there... they mark their ownership by leaving a pile of about 100 bricks under the tree. With thorn bushes growing through the bricks scattered across the area, it looks like they abandoned hope ...

Yesterday, around 7:00 am, I unlocked my front door to greet the already hot world outside. We've been moved into this new place for weeks, but everything is still pretty disorganized. I was expecting my maid to return from her two-week vacation. My phone was dead and hers had been on the blink, so I had some doubts if she'd show up. But, there she was, with a smile on her face and a bundle of joy in her arms. "Oh, you had a baby!" I exclaimed. "Come on in." She hadn't told me she was pregnant. I was going to bring up the subject about a month ago when I saw she was gaining weight... mostly around the middle, but she's never been thin. We were packing for our move, and she was missing work for final exams at adult ed. I saw no hurry to bring it up before the new year. Oops. I was wrong! Each momentous event changes lives around me and hits me with conflicting emotion. Joy. Relief. Confusion. Pain. Regret. Concern. Respect. Anger. Humility. Conce...