The director of the private school where I used to teach the class for kids with Conduct Disorder was there. She was so happy to see me! She hugged me really tightly and seemed excited to introduce me to the social worker and psychologist from her school.
She wasn't pushy but really wants me to work with her kids again. I explained that I can't make that commitment until I have a reliable car. (Today the car started making another new noise. Laura asked if it were thunder. I am concerned that by the time I have enough money to buy a newer car, nobody will want to buy this car. It fails more every day.) The director said she is willing to pay my transportation costs. She said I am always welcome at her school. I never realized how much she loved what I did. She was really impressed by the final reports that I wrote for the parents. She said the parents are really grateful for my work.
I also got the chance to talk to my boss. I told her I came home from the visits on Thursday and wrote in my blog that I would like to focus on only one community. I explained that I love what I am doing, but I think I will be most effective serving in only one community. I told her how the teachers asked what I could do for their schools and people in the neighborhoods followed me asking for money. But the people of Los Pinos don't do that because they know me. They know who I am and what I do. My boss said, "Yes. Unfortunately many Hondurans see only dollar signs when they see North Americans. That is a hard stigma to overcome."
I told her I was amazed on Tuesday when she suddenly suggested that I serve in only one community. It was an answer to prayer. I expected to be praying until January or February. I didn't expect that prayer to be answered so quickly and easily!
I also thanked my boss for her patience. I thanked her for letting me start off slowly and take things at my own pace. When I first started serving this organization my self esteem was battered. I had huge walls up to protect myself. But she gave me time to heal and now I am ready to move full steam ahead.
My boss said I came to her as a hidden treasure. She is able to see that I am more valuable and more knowledgeable than many of my coworkers. (Somehow, when she said that it didn't sound as mean.) She also said that she appreciates my approach with people. She said I am gentle and humble. I don't come in like other North Americans, pushing my own ideas. She said I fit in very well with her team. Yay! That was quite a compliment! It's an honor to be part of her team.
When I got home tonight I realized I forgot to order Laura's birthday cake. Since I was already in front of the house when I thought about it, I decided to ask Laura and Fany if they would like to accompany me. Laura has been having a blast helping her mother plan her 5th birthday party. Plus I don't like to go out alone after dark.
Fany was preparing baleadas because she knew I would be tired when I got home. Within minutes I was sitting down to dinner. Fany can be so, so thoughtful.
After a delicious dinner we headed out. I discretely asked Fany if we could stop at Walmart. Laura loves Chutes and Ladders. It's her only board game. She has played it almost every day since I got it for her a year ago. I wanted to see if they had any board games that Laura might like for her birthday.
Experiencing Walmart with Laura was the best!!! She went crazy over all of the Christmas decorations. We spent 45 minutes just looking through all of the overpriced Christmas stuff. She laid down on the doormat. She hugged the enormous stuffed polar bears. She petted the life sized Santa Claus. (He was surprisingly soft.) She tried on every stocking hat and antler headband. She pressed every button to make things dance and sing and she danced along with them.
Fany is freaked out by how much Laura loves to dance. Fany and Santos are both shy. They don't know where Laura got her desire to dance and sing. They just watch her and laugh. It was awesome to experience Walmart with Laura.
She still can't figure out how to pedal a bike. I held her feet against the pedals with my hands and helped her push down, but she just couldn't get it. She kept trying to move the bike forward with her hips.
I have to admit, she is not the most physically coordinated kid. But I understand why. She only began to play with other kids this year, and that was only in the school environment. She's never had the opportunity to do all of the rough and tumble stuff that kids do with other kids. Fany, Santos and I were Laura's playmates until she started school. She's really still learning how to run.
I have to give Fany a lot of credit. Fany realized that she was constantly telling Laura to be careful. Fany's constant warnings hindered Laura's natural curiosity and development. Once Fany was aware of that she stopped. Laura has changed a lot as a result but her physical coordination is just starting to catch up to her age.
I would love to get Laura a bike so she can learn to ride. She has the perfect place to learn, at her Grandparent's house where she spends a lot of time. It's out in the country and all of the kids ride bikes there. But the cheapest bikes we found so far are $75. I am going to see if I can find a cheaper bike. That would make an awesome birthday/Christmas present.
After Walmart we went to Pricesmart (Costco). Thank God we went today and didn't wait until later in the week and thank God I had them with me because we learned the machine to make princess cakes is broken. If I had waited until the last minute we could have had an emergency on our hands.
We talked about the options. Laura thought it over and chose a simpler cake with flowers. She didn't complain once! We decided that the flower cake is appropriate for a princess themed party because princesses like flowers.
I told Laura several times how much I enjoy shopping with her. It was so much fun to see her excitement over the Christmas decorations! She never asked for a single thing. Not once. She said she would like a dollhouse but her Dad doesn't have enough money. That hurt my heart. But she already has a bigger and better dollhouse than the one she was looking at, so I got over that. She sang all of the way home.
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