Let me tell you about goodbyes, tears, and a blouse.
This week, I had to say goodbye to my Guatemalan family. Like I said in another post, my squad is staying with a family consisting of German, Esuzanna, their wonderful kids, and their neighbor who helps take care of us, Amarilis.
I’ve had the opportunity and blessing to grow close to them over these weeks. I often help cook and prepare for meal times and I have loved every minute spent in their kitchen.
It started to feel like home. We would talk, we would laugh, we would tell stories, and make fun of each other. It felt like family.
The goodbye was so hard. I wish I could tell you it wasn’t but it broke my heart. The morning we were leaving, was Amarilis’s birthday. She’s a sassy (newly!) 20 year old who has a kind, generous heart and is built for friendship. So the evening before we left was a special one. A special dinner with the family, a bonfire, ice cream, singing, flowers and tears. Oh the tears.
And it wasn’t just hard on us who were leaving, it was hard on them. All their eyes filled with tears as we latched on to one another in hugs and said final words of thanks, appreciation and of how much we meant to one another.
Specifically, I wanted to thank Susie’s daughters, Emily and Natalie, who let us borrow some of their clothing for a day. We dressed up like real Guatemalan women. The culture is so rich here that they have their own type of dress. A handmade beautiful blouse, amazing Mayan patterns as a skirt, with a belt cinched tight in the middle to hold it up. The girls lent us their clothes, dressed us up (because there was no way us gringas were going to put it on correctly) and we met with some widows from the town.
I felt honored to wear the typical clothing. Not to mention I felt beautiful. I had this white blouse, with handmade embroidered flowers around the neck line. The flowers were soft pinkish and red, which are colors that naturally bring out pretty colors in my face and eyes. I had just showered that morning so I actually had clean hair for once.
That morning when they dressed us up, I had so much joy and my heart felt so full. It was just a beautiful exchange of culture and I felt accepted by the Guatemalan people and I was excited for the widows to see me dressed up like them.
I loved the blouse so much and Emily was incredibly generous that she let me borrow it for the rest of the weekend, and we were leaving for the weekend going to Antigua. I was so happy. I actually loved it so much that I wore it for 2 days straight, which isn’t all that uncommon on the race, but still, I don’t normally do that, but I wanted to soak in every minute with that blouse. Many of my friends had commented and said how that blouse was made for me.
So as I was thanking the family and saying hard goodbyes I had to tell the girls how much of a blessing it was to wear their clothes and how honored I felt. And I shared with them the true words, that I could not remember a day when I had ever felt prettier. And that it was so special to me. And that I would always remember this day and treasure it in my heart.
We all wept but we were also joyful in our sadness. It meant that we had become close, we had become like family. And I hope the goodbyes never gets easier.
Enjoying Antigua!
My sister, Emily!
Meeting with a widow
Happy Birthday Amarilis!
