Whew.  Minutes, hours, weeks, then months!   Alot has happened since the end of July and yet, needs and wants of what makes a content, satisfying life sometimes become clearer as those same minutes, hours, weeks, and months go by.

Let’s try to go back to the pie baking dream of RHUBARB. Thanks to the patience and know how of Tracy Miller, Deb Lawrence and I settled down to create a Rhubarb-pie that over the next week, (sorry, it couldn’t and didn’t last long) melted in your mouth.  That afternoon was just a great afternoon to be yourself, let down all “have to be somewhere” and relax, and enjoy the day.  The ice cream and pie for the next week was not quite bad either.  I remember days of old where I had picked fresh rhubarb with a girlfriend and we made pies that would just hook me for well, now years later.  City Market? Rhubarb supplier of Mexico and beyond!  I took two slices to the couple that works beside me at the bookstore, added some ice cream, and they absolutely loved it.  Shared some with my friend Osseily, divine.  Overall, success and now I look to make more, lol.  Thanks Tracy and Deb!

From that point on, alot of rushing and cramming, yet, receiving, meeting, and socializing with an amazing group of new teachers to ASF since July 24, 2013, has been amazing – the new staff, their children and the simple experiences of just trying to be an information supplier has been fun and rewarding, and the smiles and freshness of Mexico through their eyes and questions has made it all worth the while.

At some point, you realize how do you get energized?  It is at the very moments you spend with a group of people that make you feel energized, so yes, sometimes, it is a 8-9 hour sleep early (which I have done over the last few days) – or, it is just walking, talking, and reflecting amongst each other, and often that does the trick as well with the right people.  I have to say, one of the most enriching experiences is and has been the fact that I am trusted to give information and provide assistance to one of the best new groups of staff I have ever met and seen.  This start to the new year enhances the way you perceive the new year, at least for me.  I am excited of a year of making sure I respect and appreciate the little things that make the larger problems seem somewhat insignificant.

For example, waking up after a post-Mexican midnight rain – nothing like it.

Do it early enough, and you see the freshness of the streets, the air, the emptiness of the streets and you realize, this is pretty much as amazing as I could possibly imagine, and you are smack dab in the middle of it!  And even moreso, if you choose, you are surrounded by people that make that experience of the culture, the air, the freshness even more clear.  Clarity…I have fund so much in the last few days with an amazing group of people, animals that always are there to remind you that when it comes down to basics, the simple things of being there for another, making tons of time to play, and tons of time to just sit back and enjoy,

making the sense of clarity a reality every day.