Gratitude

I have been in a reflective mood this week.  Perhaps being down on my back in bed with lots of pain was divine intervention to encourage me to take an inventory of the many blessings in my life.

Moving to Costa Rica has been such a transformative experience for me.  While our situation is far from perfect having to care for an elderly person with advanced dementia, there are still so many blessings to acknowledge.  I have really learned to appreciate new friendships we have made and the generosity of our community.

For almost 20 years I worked for a government correctional institution which seemed to encourage mediocrity, or at least blantantly tolerate it.  Initiative was a pretty much non existent trait in most of the employees who were more likely to be conditioned into accepting the status quo.  In my naivety,  I believed that with even a small group of rebels like myself, the agency could be transformed.  In the end, I came to the realization that just like the Titanic, the ship could not be saved.

Now, far away from the nonsense of working for an agency that does not have to be held accountable for the lack of productive processes,  I love mentoring a new young friend from Nicaragua.  She absolutely has the highest values and shows so much initiative to better herself.  I have always loved to cook, and love anyone who shares the passion.  My new young friend is so excited to come and learn how to whip up new dishes.  I could not believe she had never tasted apple pie!  We decided to make mini apple pies in muffin pans and a separate apple crumb dessert.  Her enthusiasm is certainly infectious and has really made it a joy to mentor her cooking skills.  She has even developed a craving for spicy Mexican food, which is a favorite type of cuisine in my household.  We have found it very easy to grow our own tomatillos and serrano peppers.  Since our crop of tomatillos has been so successful, I am even going to try making green enchiladas next week.

I have become very close to my Nica friend, so much so, I feel like she is like is akin to an adopted daughter.  Her background is one fraught with many difficult and painful events, but somehow she has managed to grow into a strong, independent, and hard working young woman.  I think she feels blessed to have someone here that can be like a family member to her since all of her family is in Nicaragua struggling to overcome economic challenges.  What she does not realize, is that her friendship has been transformative for me in so many ways.  I have learned to be grateful in a purposeful manner for the multitude of blessings in my life.