Is it Sunday?
It is now our third straight Sunday in South America without church; it would feel weird except that Sundays don’t feel like Sundays here anyway, so it’s just like double Saturdays instead.
Basically, today I did nothing.
Not exactly proud of the fact, but it’s true. Mostly it was because I had some weird shoulder/neck/headache bleeding over from Saturday afternoon that just wouldn’t go away. So I sat around for awhile, wrote more of my next book, watched another episode of my favorite Korean program, and waited for my muscles to relax.
They didn’t.
Meanwhile, Yali was literally screaming with happiness over a box of golden raisins, munching one after another like they were candy. I don’t know; maybe to him they do taste like candy. I’m not sure which he enjoyed more today, in fact: the raisins, or the dirt in the garden. Sometimes he just tosses the dirt into the air and watches it fly away. Somehow, his uncle Joe has influenced him from thousands of miles away.
Lunch today departed from the traditional “carne” and moved on into the world of “pescado”: fried fish, boiled potatoes in cream sauce, and then the weirdest dessert I’ve come across in a long time. Maybe I don’t get out much, but I’d never heard of “dulce con queso”; I’m not sure that’s what it’s called, but that’s what it was. Literally warm caramel sauce over a slab of melted queso cheese. Sweet and salty, I guess. It was good. Very good.
Then I put Yali down for a nap while Oxbear went shopping. We enjoy reversing traditional roles on a regular basis. Not on purpose; just happens. It was still so quiet. No other kids around. I was beginning to miss Oscar screaming in the middle of the night down the hall.
With my aches still in full force, Yali and I stayed in our room for the afternoon. He managed to be easily entertained for two and a half hours until Oxbear walked back with sacks of sandwich, quiche, and fries for dinner, a large box of freshly baked gourmet cookies, and gifts for our families. And enough time left over for Skyping – Puck had been swimming – and Yali’s bedtime bottle.
Meanwhile, I took a Colombian version of ibuprofen (had to cut down an 800mg; who takes 800mg of ibuprofen in one sitting?) and hoped it was legit. Tacked on way too many cookies as a chaser. I know how to take care of myself.
Tomorrow: U.S. Embassy required physical exam.