It’s been a while since I have written a blog post and this week, I was challenged by a few different people about that. Some were friends. Some were strangers who have been reading. What happened to us? What happened to our story? And I realized that we have settled into our life here and now it feels normal. Just normal. And I forgot that there’s nothing normal about what we do here, and I need to continue to share it all. Not because you particularly need to hear it – but because I need to tell it. To stay in the moment, experiencing the wonder of it all every day.
What could be a better story to share for my big return than a wedding story. Everyone loves to see a bride and a groom on their big day, and we had a wedding right outside our door this week. An impromptu wedding and honestly, while the bride looked beautiful, the groom didn’t look all that impressed.
It all started with our neighbor named Brittany who lives 3 doors down. She’s around 8 or 9 and although she doesn’t’ speak English, we have lots of conversations and laughs together. Every few days she comes over to take Nacho for a walk with her dog Luna. Apparently on one of those walks, Nacho and Luna fell in love and Brittany decided it was time to formalize the relationship.
A few days ago, we came home to find a note shoved under our door. The note (translated) said: “Hi, I am Luna. Nacho, tomorrow you will marry me. I love you. Please wear a suit. At 1:00. It will be at your house.” Enclosed with the note was a red and white bow tie. To go with the suit, I suppose.
Unfortunately, fate was not on the side of the betrothed. The next day the skies opened and for 3 days it rained. There was no wedding. But on Day 4 the sun came out and the doorbell rang. Luna was standing there in her lovely white wedding dress and her flower girl Brittany was carrying a bouquet of yellow sunflowers. It was time and I quickly tied the red and white tie on Nacho. After 3 days of rain, his white tuxedo coat was a mess, but Luna didn’t seem to mind.
The wedding was short – the groom easily distracted by nearby tires. A quick sniff of the butt instead of a kiss. But Brittany thought it was perfect and we laughed a LOT as Luna kept tripping on her dress in her excitement.
So no, there’s nothing normal about our life here. Up north, I never would have taken time on a Thursday afternoon for a dog wedding with a tiny neighbor who didn’t care that I speak a different language than her. I wouldn’t have spent this morning on my hands and knees drawing chalk art with children from hard places. I wouldn’t be listening to a DEAFENING mariachi band outside my front door while I write a blog story about what it means to live our normal life. And just maybe I wouldn’t be this happy!
I have had many people tell me the main reason they couldn’t live in a southern location like Mexico is because they would miss the changing of the seasons. I know what they mean. The crocuses and tulips popping through the ground in spring after the many months of cold. The hot days and nights of summer with vacations and BBQs and lake swims. The reds and golds and oranges of fall leaves. The new crisp air and the change of wardrobes from cutoff jeans to long jeans. From flip flops to sneakers. Everything pumpkin spice. And then the inevitable sudden blast of that first snow. The beautiful frosty trees and the not so welcome blizzards and wind chills and trapped at home snow days. Life in Canada, especially in Saskatchewan, is defined by the change of the seasons and conversation about the weather. Good and bad. So much talk about the weather.
We also were visited by a large poisonous cane toad last week – probably looking for water after a long period of winter drought. As per usual, puppy Nacho needed a 3:00 a.m. visit outside. I haven’t decided if he really needs to go peepee every night, or if he is just too bored to sleep – I strongly suspect the latter. But I staggered down the stairs and into the garage to let him out the front door. I could see something in the stray cat’s food dish which sits in the garage and as I bent down and looked closer, I saw the dangerous cane toad. Nacho sniffed at is as well which could have been deadly for him. Cane toads are extremely poisonous and dogs who touch their skin can die within 20 minutes. Being as it was 3:00 and my superhero protector was snoring deeply upstairs, I found a pail and covered the food dish, leaving it for a morning evacuation by someone other than me. Unfortunately, when hubby went down in the morning to bravely save his family, the little poisonous darling had escaped and now I live in fear of whether he is long gone or whether he is waiting amongst the garage stuff to reappear. We have moved all pet food and dishes inside to keep everyone safe, and I am wondering if that was raccoon cat’s plan all along – conquering the final frontier to move from the garage and into our home for good.
These are the signs that tell us that rainy season is almost here. Hurricane season officially began this week. There are 19 hurricanes predicted for the Pacific side of Mexico this season. Living in a bay, we are mostly sheltered from such occurrences, but many of our neighboring communities are at risk. As the dangers of the hurricanes pass us by, the winds and rains of the accompanying tropical storms will make themselves known. The clouds have started to roll in. It is almost time. Time for the heavens to open and the pounding rains that come quickly and stop just as quickly. The fun of watching little children dripping with sweat, running around enjoying the cooling waters on their faces. The deep puddles for jumping in…. and getting stuck in. The powerful thunderstorms and mesmerizing lightning shows over the ocean.
