March 27, 2011 ~ Day 108 Unexpected Visitor

I pulled up to our house this afternoon following a long day at the doctor's office just in time to see a healthy looking older man closing our side gate to walk into our back yard. I was a bit surprised as I certainly wasn't expecting anyone. Still, he didn't look menacing since I had only just spoken with my mother at my house watching our kids and everything was fine, I wasn't worried.

I had a very strong suspicion of who this man might be - the owner of the house!

Until today all we knew about the owner of our house was that he was a 'Doctor without Borders' type and hadn't lived here in a long while. I always had the sense that he must have a very good heart, and assumed that he retired from the practice of medicine here in the States and then began to travel to do good around the world. I wondered if his wife had passed on, and this was how he had decided to spend his golden years.

As it turns out, he *is* a very good man but the life story I had imagined for him was all wrong.

The gentleman in question, who I will call Felipe for the purposes of this blog, is of Latin heritage and grew up here. He moved to this house at the age of eight and went to the same local elementary school, junior high and high school that my children will attend. I am not sure where he went to medical school... but he said that they moved as a family to Mexico in 1972 and have been there ever since, including a 10 year sojourn in Guatemala that was cut short by local unrest. He and his wife currently live in Chiapas where he kindly gives his medical care to those who need it. Which means that Felipe has not lived in the United States in nearly 40 years! He is a grandfather with his youngest grandchildren already in college.

The home we now live in belonged to Felipe's parents, or at least to his mother. (I know this because we have found little cards with her elegant handwriting tacked to the walls.) He has fond sentimental memories of this home because it was his place of origin. I could see his eyes mist over a little as he strolled quickly through our house. I wonder if he was thinking of his mother.

Meeting Felipe today just makes me love living in this house even more!!!

Even better, he seems to be a very reasonable man - far more reasonable than we had been led to believe by the property management company. He said that it was no problem for us to put up screens, clear out the old tree and have SDGE check out the water heater for safety. All of the things that the property manager had said no to, Felipe said "If you're paying for it, no problem!"

In return, I invited him and his wife to have dinner with us while they are in town and I really hope he will take us up on it! They live a fascinating life and I would love to hear their stories and their perspective on life in mainland Mexico, especially so close to its southern border.

Here is the awful part though... of all days for him to stop by unannounced! Our house was just a shambles! The kitchen had dishes stacked on every counter, and there were at least 9 loads of laundry waiting by the washer. My kid has been home from school for the last few days and toys were everywhere. Not my finest moment as a homemaker, that is for sure! I hadn't even been in the house today, and so it REALLY really wasn't anything to be proud of.

Oh well... I promised Felipe that when he and his wife join us for dinner the house will be beautifully clean and he won't even recognize it.

(Just one more of the many times that I've wished I was a house goddess. I'll have to settle for being a demi-demi-goddess with good intentions!!!)

I love the way you can pray for guidance on something... and then by the grace of the Divine it comes to pass. I prayed for guidance on my health and a spider came into our house and bit me, causing me to go on doxycycline which is apparently also attacking my lyme disease and co-infections. I found out today that I will be on doxycycline for at least the next 60 days... which is actually a good thing. Thanks to the doxy I've been feeling SO much better and less arthritic than I had in months!

Similarly, I recently prayed for guidance on the multitude of spiders coming into our house (because of the terrible broken screens on our windows that we were not allowed to fix) and now the owner has shown up within days of my prayer and agreed that I could replace the screens. Yay! I'm thrilled.

This house really seems to be a special, magical place for us so far. Someday I will finally get around to scheduling a housewarming party so that it will actually look clean and tidy for our friends and family. I hope to make it as lovely a home for my children as it obviously was for Felipe when he grew here. I would love one day for my own sons to look back and reflect happily on their childhood in this sweet place, just as he does!

At this moment though, I'm most grateful for the little surprises that life continues to send our way. Even when they look bad at the outset (spiders, intruders) they often turn out to be wonderful!

December 10, 2010 ~ Day 1The Gift of Surprise

Surprise seems to be one of the key parts of being human. Life surprises us all the time with things that we want, things that we really DON’T want, and things that we never knew we wanted but are glad we’ve found. Sometimes it may seem as though just as soon as you feel like you’ve gotten a few things figured out, life surprises you with something out of left field that changes the rules in the middle of the game.

My parents married in December 1974. A second marriage for mom, a third marriage for dad... this was the one they knew would last. They were happy to have found each other and begun a new chapter. Each brought two children into the mix (2 + 2 = 4) most of whom were well on their way to adulthood, so with an eye toward the future mom and dad made a lot of plans. They planned to buy a home, finish raising the kids and then travel the world together. My mom decided to finish her college education at last. My dad looked forward to a rewarding early retirement.

And then, as with all surprising surprises, guess who decided to come to town? The stork!!! Yes, that awesome bird decided to bestow upon my folks a premature, scrawny baby human so furry that my siblings affectionately called me “Monkey” until the lanugo finally fell off - although never in front of my mother, I’m guessing. So, SURPRISE! Instead of getting a degree, retiring early and traveling the world, my parents got to Start All Over with diaper changing, late night feedings, tantrums, the works. For the fifth time! Dad was fifty years old when I was born.

I believe part of the meaning of life is that there is a surprise waiting for each of us around every corner. You never know what will happen next, and while this is sort of infuriating at times it can also be pretty darn cool. Yesterday, my husband was surprised by needing an immediate root canal. Bad surprise. Today, my son told me that we get to bake an apple pie for his Christmas caroling party next week. Good surprise! When I was 21, I found out that I had a pre-cancer and needed surgery. Bad surprise. When I was 28, my husband and I found out that we were expecting our first child. Great surprise!

No matter how many times life has surprised you in the past... one thing is for certain. The surprises will keep on coming right up until the last moment. Actually, I’m pretty confident that even after we die, we’ll all probably be completely surprised by whatever happens next.

It’s also worth considering the possibility that perhaps YOU are the great surprise that will walk into someone else’s life unexpectedly and light it up. Just like I did, 35 years ago today. Thank you mom and dad for taking this little lemon and turning me into something drinkable. Life brought you a great big surprise and you rose to the occasion together without batting an eyelash.

Readers, here’s hoping that my birthday brings you luck and something unexpectedly wonderful.