Daytrip

So, readers, do you wonder, what is the deal with all the detail? The deal is that I am trying to record the journey, my thoughts, what happened, the whole shebang, as a record for the future. For the girls, for the rest of my family, for me. I have made more trips to Haiti in the past year, than I probably ever will again, in my lifetime. In fact, for the immediate future, there is probably only one more. We wait so long for our children to come home, but when we see the end, we realize we might be missing something in the experience. I don't want to miss a thing!

*************************************

Sunday morning, and I am trying not to think about the fact that we are leaving the next day. Why does it even cross my mind? Why can't I just live in the moment and enjoy it? I resolve to do it! After all, we are supposed to go to the beach today. That is, if we can find Veniel. I think he has gone to church, and later Mama J confirms this for us. In the meantime, we play!

When Veniel came back he said, "if we are going to go to the beach, we need to leave right now!" This was not a problem for us. We are Americans. We are used to the time factor, and we had those kids as well as ourselves, packed up and ready to load within 10 minutes. W was clapping, "Yea! The machine!" She was loving these car rides. The only downside was, in the rush I forgot my sun-block. Big mistake. At any rate, Veniel, who is a very skilled Haitian driver, made the run out to the beach. It's pretty flat and mostly straight, but the road is narrow, and people on it drive fast. We did go thru a few small towns, and all of a sudden, we arrive at this swanky beach club.

I know darn well these kids have never seen anything like this before, but they are so cool and collected I wonder what the heck is going on in their little heads. Do they think in America we come to places like this all the time? Because the truth is, I really am a small town girl at heart, and although I can adapt to this lifestyle...this was my former husband's preferred mode of travel...swanky...it's not mine. I like getting in with the folks, for the most part. So I wonder, do they think this is how we will live?

It is simply beautiful, however, and I am a little sad that Haiti is struggling so hard to survive that most people, native or foreign will never see this natural beauty.

But then I remind myself, today it is about the kids. It's about not thinking about tomorrow, or contemplating other problems. Live in the moment, please!

We play in the Caribbean water for awhile, and all us are LOVING IT. But then, some jet skiers come out from behind the jetty, and start showing off. Mrs. K's little boy may have liked it, but all those little girls did not. They screamed laughed and ran for the shore. We decide it would be more manageable up at the pool.

After a few hours of this, lunch is served, so we go in to eat. Not sure what to expect, but really not expecting a catered luncheon buffet! It's all Haitian, and my girls have big plates, and pretty much eat up every bit of it. Luckily, we have gotten in before the lines get long, and we don't really linger over lunch. When we go back out to the pool area, we pretty much have it to ourselves for awhile, and we claim a small shallow pool as OURS! Because here is what was happening. As the day wore on and more and more people arrived, we had what was turning into a party crowd. OK, but not the best for these little people to be in the middle of. Their own pool gave them the opportunity to have their own space and still watch the goings on. The kids, especially our girls, were enjoying the music and getting their groove on, and it was really cute! Made me realize I better start locating some music for them.

Also, it appears that Cheetah is a good swimmer already, and is passing on some tips to my girls, because they were doing things in the water they had never done before, like holding their breath, (a hard thing to explain when there is a language barrier) kicking, how to move your arms...FANTASTIC!

Another hour or two of this, and it is time to get back to the city. I look at my two traveling mamas (Mama J did not come on this trip) and they are sunburned. I realize I am too, and maybe far worse! Oh well. The price we pay! Even though at my age, I have no business doing this to my skin! The kids don't protest about leaving. They had hours and hours to get it out of their systems, and we think they may fall asleep again on the way home. They should be tired by now! We stop at a roadside stand and Veniel buys watermelon.

We continue back. The kids do not seem to want to sleep. They are wound up! But finally, as we get closer, L crawls onto my lap and out she goes like a light. W never does go to sleep. She is enjoying the ride too much.

I think I may have figured out the Haitian driving system. The idea is to pass as many people as possible. Your most important option on your vehicle is your horn! At any rate, we come back into town.

After supper, I am thinking I am about out of energy, but the kids feel revived and aregetting wound up again. All of a sudden, it starts to rain! It feels so good, Mama J and I just stand out in it for awhile. It's wonderful to see the plants, the trees, the streets, everything and everyone, getting wet, washing the grime away. It has not rained in the city in awhile. I take a bunch of the kids up to the swing, where they can play, and I can still enjoy the rain.

My younger child is on the verge a meltdown. I know it does not look like that, but trust me. The more tired she is, the more wound up she gets, and when she crashes, it is not a pretty site. Somehow, thankfully, we avert it for the most part. As Aves observed, "We did not do alot of nesting. We took them out and overstimulated the heck out of them!" And we both laughed, because that is exactly true. When I finally get them to bed, I am too tired to think about tomorrow. Which is good, because it is good-bye day, always the hardest day of the visit.