Mexico 16

Wow - What an adventure.  All I can say is amazing!!!  The first day we get to McAllen, Texas my wallet is stolen.  I lose my debit card, driver's license, ss card, etc.  That's pretty crappy - you'd think it would just go downhill from there, but no.  Once we get to our site and meet our family and start work - everything else moves to the back of my mind.

I was supposed to be in Mexico.  It was an amazing experience for both me and the boys.  getting to meet the families - getting to know my group - moving outside my realm of comfort was unbelievable.

I feel like I have found a little part of me that I didn't really know was lost.  Trying to talk to our maestro my spanish tarted coming back -it was so fun.  Soon we all started doing the half spanish/half english thing with each other!  It was too funny!  See ing our group interact with the Mexican children near our work site was so uplifting.  It was just people with people - 

Working hard all day - getting up at 5:45 and going to bed at 11:00 or so - sheer exhaustion has never felt so good.  We got home late last night and Mitchell looked at his bedroom and said - "You know Mom - my room is about the same size as the houses we were building - it really makes you thankful"!

Mission accomplished!

Almost Time to Go!!

Two days and counting until we leave for Mexico! Right now I'm a nervous Nelly about the details. Is all of the laundry done? Do I have everything on the list??

Evidently I am the biggest dork who follows rules too carefully!! I read the packing list and it specifically said shorts - no shorter than 1 inch above the knee. So - me being me - pulled out the ruler and measured my shorts. First might I say that looking at myself in shorts made me want to gag!!!! But - I found out that my shorts were too short - not Dasiy Duke short, but just not 1" above the knee either. So - like a good little rule follower I went to target and bought a couple of new shorts and dug out old capris to add to the packing. Then when I get to our Mexico meeting last Sunday and confess my concerns I was laughed at. Yes - laughed at! All those "done it befores" said no-one really cares that much about the length of the shorts as long as they aren't too short. Oh well - now I have some new cute bermudas - too bad I will be using them to build cement houses in!!!

My other dilemma is when to say no. We were asked to bring school supplies to leave at the church so I went shopping last week and loaded up. There is also on the list things to bring for the children of the families who we are building houses for - like toys, stuffed animals, balls, etc. We have changed our building location and now are going to be building around a school. So now I want to load up on toys to bring. However - between the school supplies and the traveling supplies (and the new shorts) its getting a little expensive.....So - I settled on bubbles. Bubbles are cool aren't they? I bought several packages of bottles of bubbles. All kids like bubbles right?

Composting Dog Poop - is it going too Far?

Okay - so I'm into the "green" thing. We recycle as much as we can. I love the new PlanetGreen channel 102. "Living with Ed" is one of my favorites! I'm trying to convince my husband a hybrid is worth the cost. Anyway - I have two rather large dogs - and they produce a large amount of waste - what do you do with it?

So - I'm reading - watching and I come across this website that has a solution. A dog poop composter! How cool is that? So - you take a trashcan - with a lid and cut off the bottom and put several holes in it. Bury it into a hole into the ground unti the top is just a fe inches above the ground. You need to put some rocks and sand in the hole to help with drainage.

So - you scoop the poop - put it in the can - the lid keeps it from smelling. Each week add some septic starter and a little water. The poop breaks down - filters through the rock and sand and seeps back into the ground. Safe for the environment!

What a deal!

http://www.plantea.com/dog-waste-compost.htm

ARRRGGG!!!

Why is it that the two weeks BEFORE spring break (your supposed vacation) are always the most stressful?? I feel like I am working up enough stress that there is no way possible for just one week off to ever unwind it all!!

Remind me again why we choose to do an interdisciplinary unit in the spring right before testing right before spring break? Oh yea - that's right - we're crazy!!! And as if that's note enough we decide it would be even better to shoot for a Success Day the following week - the Friday before spring break!! Lord - what were we thinking???

Then there's Mexico - not that that's a bad thing - jsut details! And when I can't get the details down - I get worried. Like - what do I pack? Normally by now I have a list of what I plan to take on the trip - but noone has told me what I should be taking. I'm a newbie here for this mission trip deal. What exactly does one take to Mexico? I need a list - instructions! I'm anal! I need to be packed at least a full 4 days before we plan to leave!!!

Then we have the hearth and home details. How exactly do I clean the how well enough so that it might still be reasonably clean by the time we get home???? I need to get the spinach planted which means I need to get the garden turned and compost added! Do I have shorts that I would be caught dead in? Then again do I care? How do I convince my husband to have a new car waiting for me when I get home? (That's one that I'm really working on!)

See - details - it's all in the details! What's an anal retentive control freak like me supposed to do?

Mexico Here We Come!

Okay - - so maybe I'm crazy - but that's nothing new. My oldest gets talked into to going on a mission trip to Mexico during spring break with his friends and I think - What a great idea for him. He needs a break - he needs a little lesson in humility as well as a reminder of how fortunate we are and a reminder of the meaning of "doing for others".

Then - a couple of weeks ago amidst a minor personal breakdown a friend says "why don't you go to Mexico too? At first I think NO WAY...how could I? What about the house? The dogs? The world? Then I think...wait...I could..... SO I very quickly see if my youngest could go too, and sure enough he can and within the span of 24 hours not only is Mitchell going to Mexico, but Peyton and I are too.

Now - normally this is the sort of the thing that would cause a planner like me to panic. I'm not in charge of anything! Arrgg!! There are teenagers in charge of my team - oh no! But guess what? I feel amazingly at peace! Imagine that. Ever since I made the choice to go all I feel is calm and relaxed about the choice. Its the strangest feeling - almost as if this is something I'm supposed to do!

In our Team Meetings I just sit back and watch the dynamics of the kids/semi-adults as they lead and its refreshing - I don't feel compelled to jump in an do anything!

What's also really strange is that right now the news is fell of panic and worry over Mexico which would normally have me freaking out, but somehow I still feel calm....

I think one of the things I have been needing or missing is my own sense of community and maybe this is giving it to me. Mitchell and I went to church this morning and had a very nice time - again I felt peaceful.

We'll see if it lasts.

They way I'm figuring it is that if rebels or whoever try and kidnap me they will decide within minutes that that "crazy white woman" is too bossy and they will want to get rid of me immediately so I figure I'm safe. And Peyton - well he's Peyton - he would wear them out in a heartbeat so he's pretty safe too! Mitchell? Well we'll have to keep him safely hidden!