First Morning's Meditation

Last night Miguel greeted us with a handshake and taxied us across town, stop-and-go. The car windows were open. The humid air blew in my face from the open front windows. He honked at every driver who might be considering crossing our path.

Using our limited Spanish, we told him about the blizzard we escaped—the snow and wind and ice.

This morning, Marlo realizes that he told Miguel ice cream (helado) fell from the sky. He meant to say ice (hielo)—the closest word we knew to sleet.

We tell our hostess Leyda Hernandez during breakfast. She reassures us he probably figured it out. “Adelante” she advises us. Forward! And she says something in Spanish about mistakes in order to learn.

The Hernandez house has small changes since our visit last year.  A second television perches in the living room. The telephone has moved from the kitchen to a central hallway. It is attached to a wire dangling from the bare-wood-and-rafters ceiling. Their family computer has moved from the upstairs hallway to the dining room area.

This morning, brushing my teeth and looking at the bathroom walls that still need paint, I picture myself painting them or offering money for paint.

I interrupt my runaway thought-train. Already, I am judging differences.

I scold myself and re-frame: The Hernandez white ceramic-tile floors are still immaculate from daily mopping. Their welcome has been warm and genuine. Leyda encouraged us at breakfast. . . .

And their humor has been delightful.

Last night Pastor Ricardo and Leyda were surprised Marlo would not want coffee with breakfast. I agreed with them about its values: energia (energy) and fuerte (strength). Pastor Ricardo smiled and said in slow and careful English, “Coffee is a holy drug!”

We laughed—my best laugh in a several months.

Ah, yes, I remind myself as I rinse my mouth with bottled water in the un-repainted bathroom: different is not a synonym for worse.

A better synonym, perhaps: delightful.