When I go up the road to read to the small children at the local school, I pass this house where a woman who cleans has about five children and then their children all living in this one house. Sometimes people help them by putting windows in their house, buying extra food for them, etc., but mostly they seem to just have more and more children. One of the daughters works down the road, and I gather she is a good worker and tries to encourage her sisters to get jobs. I suppose babies have more appeal. A terrific exception is s young woman I saw in Parrita yesterday who had been living with her parents in esterillos after she gave birth to a little boy. She always seemed somewhat surly, but yesterday she positively sparkled. She saw me and came over, introduced herself and really spoke some english to me. She was married and going to school to learn to be an accountant. She had been the kind of girl who was always sullen and seemingly disagreeable, but some door had been open inside her, and she was blossoming.
This morning I could hear the children before I even had the shabby little school in sight. They were playing loudly inside their playroom, and I went in to read them a goofy book about a spy who steals a magic potion for making thiNg s whiz and fizz. I translated the story into spanish last night and read it as I showed the silly pictures. When I ask the children which book they like best, it is always the one j have just read them. Today was no different.
After j finished reading the story, the children went back to their play time, and this is Angelo who has put on a golden hat and is riding a stick horse, making neighing horse noises as he trots around the room, utterly oblivious to his surroundings. I love the shameless way children can go about their play with no self consciousness. We adults could learn something from them. This is my little giddyup man.
These are Crystal and Sadi, doing their best at jumping and swinging rope.
From skipping rope, the children moved to a little limbo time. Here are Angie and Jefe showing their mastery.
After much pulling and tugging, sliding and jumping, they all went outside to the newly built playground where I confess that I noticed nails and screws incompletely holding the thing together...
This set is right beneath one of those trees that look like they have Christmas decorations still dangling from the branches, so it is all very festive looking despite the raw dirt beneath the children's feet.
Even teacher Paola has paper work to attend to, and I suppose my being there helps her to get some of that nonsense out of the way.
Sometimes you just have to sit things out and hope that whatever sadness you carry at that moment will pass. Crystal was better after a bone crushing hug, but I could still tell she was not her best today.
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