After my Dad was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, both Mom and Dad's worlds narrowed down, until the hospital bed in the living room became their universe. Mom wouldn't allow any help except my brother, no nurses or hospice, and so when my Dad did die, everything that her being had focused on for just under a year, was suddenly gone too.
Gradually she began to change and grow and be open to new adventures again, so that 6 years after his death, when she called and asked me if I would meet her and my brother Lance in Guatemala with my two boys, if she bought the tickets, I wasn't too surprised. Greg couldn't go because of work, but it would just mean pulling the boys from the last week of their 2nd and 3rd grade school years.
As a teacher, I am supposed to believe that missing school is horrible - but the last week of school is a lot of running outside with assistants and parent volunteers doing field days while the grades are done and the classrooms readied for summer. This seemed like an experience that would give them a lot more than just staying in school an extra week.
There were some safety issues, the previous year the group had had their bus blocked by piles of burning tires and groups of protesters. less than 10 years ago the Town we were visiting had a massacre of the very Mayan tribe we were going to be helping rebuild cement homes with. Now they were officially an independent zone where the Spanish Guatemalan Army would give them autonomy, but still . . . It was my "babies" I was taking there. We were warned to never talk to the children because parents were very fearful that we might kidnap them.
We went, by plane to Houstan and then Guatemala City, and by painted old school bus to Panajachel, and by motorboat across the lake and through the bullrushes to Santiago, Atitlan. Then they told us the building we were to help build had just been completed and asked if we would mind volunteering at a Mayan school for the week. It was perfect for us. We shared pictures and songs and games that needed no words with children who spoke Mayan at home but Spanish at school. Every day we feasted on wonderful fruits and by the time we were ready to go home my Mom was wearing the hand woven Mayan Skirt and my sons had friends and an adopted "grandma"
Love your collage Dixie. My best friend from college died of esophageal cancer in 1998. She was 52. The survival rate is dismal. I'm so sorry you lost your Dad. I went to Guatemala - Quetzaltenango - for 10 days in 2007. I was with a group. We had Spanish lessons, one on one for 4 hours a day, and a home stay with a family. I was amazed that everyone had cable, and that the streets were full of internet cafes. We had a wonderful time with our respective families. I was also told never to photograph a child because people were afraid their children would be kidnapped/sold for adoption. It definitely is a country of contrasts. I was unaware that they'd had a civil war from 1960-1996, and that the military brutally killed their own people. I'm so glad you went and saw the country. I thought it was extraordinarily beautiful, especially the Sierra Madre.
@sophiaz yeah my Dad was only 60 and died in 1996. It's a brutal way to go and my cousin and an uncle died the same way so I am terrified of it.
Guatemala is beautiful and I loved it. We didn't learn Spanish but did take classes in tzuitajil Mayan. The people treated us to an amazing welcome but I think traveling with my children made me easier for them to trust with theirs.
love the collage, love the story, would love to know what got into your mom. Had no idea people spoke Mayan in this modern age (they didn't teach us that fact in our 5th grade Mayan unit)
@francoise one of the fun things we learned was that they used a base 12 math system, instead of base 10. It was wonderful to see my Mom light up and decide to be independent. Mom and Dad had a good marriage but she basically went from her parents home to college to being married and had never been on her own
Guatemala is beautiful and I loved it. We didn't learn Spanish but did take classes in tzuitajil Mayan. The people treated us to an amazing welcome but I think traveling with my children made me easier for them to trust with theirs.