Usually the fourth of July is filled with BBQ and fireworks amongst family and friends with my birthday being an afterthought. This year was special! I was presented with a pack of cards, letters, and gifts from you that made tears come to my eyes. Barrett succeeded in surprising me in having you come up with some kind of 40 themed letter or gift. I had a letter that was cut into a puzzle of 40 pieces, lists of 40, Ps 40, Is 40, and 40 years of poo to name a few. What a joy! Thank you so much for all of your thoughtfulness and time to sit down and bless me. I am truly humbled and grateful for all of you.
My other special gift was having my parents fly in to celebrate their youngest turning 40! Did you get that? Their YOUNGEST turned 40! Mom and dad, you are old! Hee hee! We had 7 days of adventure introducing them to life here in Puerto Rico. Now for a glimpse of the tale, as well as what I learned!
After we picked them up from the airport, we headed to Fort Buchanan for their early 4th of July fair and fireworks. Following an hour of bouncy houses, bubbles, and Uncle Sam, we decided to venture out for pinchos (meat on a stick) since the promised fireworks wouldn’t begin till 10pm. Our only directions to find this famous pincho place were a turn at a light by our house and to follow the road till we saw the Heineken sign. Ha! It was a large wooden shack that had outdoor seating and a DJ that kindly played his tunes so the townships miles away could hear them. None of us had ever had pinchos before so we ordered one of each (chorizo, steak, chicken, chicken cordon blue, pork, and 2 sausages). There were no sides, just meat! So we dug into our smorgasbord on a stick with deafening music blocking out the sounds of pet fail videos playing in the background. Hilarious and delicious!
The next day we toured a merchant marine ship that was in Old San Juan harbor for a few days. We enjoyed meeting all the Agies on board and hearing how they work and travel. Then we introduced my parents to the best coffee place in town where they sipped lemonade as we indulged in macchiato and lattes. =0) That concluded this day in Old San Juan, but we would be back!
Monday was the fourth and we started with a promenade on a bike/walk path close to home. As we rested at a fresh lemonade stand, Barrett spotted a four-person cart-bike complete with a striped clothed cover! We all piled on and began our knee banging pedaling, which turned out to be harder than we expected. When the second jogger passed us, we decided to punt our attempt at seeing the beach and instead, turned around, and laughed as we returned the cart 30 minutes later. Next was a BBQ at the pool with all our Coast Guard neighbors, ice cream at the covered park, 5 minute kid parade, and knee high fireworks to the patriotic tunes blasted from a boom box. The night ended with a big screen movie and us falling quickly to bed.
The rest of the week was filled with bird aviaries, butterfly garden, tower climbing, gondola riding, cave exploring, and Arecibo observatory discovering. We did drive by beaches but never made it to one. We explored El Morro as best as we could in the stifling heat made better by eating fish tacos in air conditioning nearby. Speaking of food, we also introduced them to mofungo and tostones. Both of which involve fried smashed plantains, believe it or not, they were a hit!
Although we did a lot of day journeying, it was fun to see my parents love on all three kids. The twins really enjoyed them and Annabelle talked their ears off while showing them all her skills. There were hugs, kisses, and gifts showered on them for which I am grateful. This adoption journey has been long for us, but it was for them too. I often forget about how much others have invested in Ronnie and Lydia’s story as well. So to see them enjoying our complete family was heart warming for me. But my absolute favorite moment was when we were waiting a long 40 minutes for the tram to take us down to Camuy cave and my dad was throwing the twins on his shoulders to make them giggle endlessly. I looked for Annabelle and she was sitting in the stroller looking at them with a broad, heart filled smile that emanated joy. There was no jealously, no anger, no sadness, just true happiness for her brother and sister. My heart melted. This girl! Oh how I want to have that joy for others as they experience happiness or blessing! I often respond with envy, apathy, or competition instead of entering into the joy. And that is the biggest lesson I learned. To be thankful, grateful, and happy with others when they are blessed, instead of envious, apathetic, or angry. And I learned it from my 5 year old. Bienvenido Puerto Rico!