It was the long awaited day, a day I had unknowingly been
dreading my entire life; my first birthday away from my twin sister.
On Saturday, the youth began to sing happy birthday, without
thinking I joined along to sing happy birthday to my sister. I realized I was
singing happy birthday to no one. I
didn’t feel sad it just felt really odd knowing that everyone was singing
specifically and ONLY to me. That feeling of being the center of attention
during the song had never occurred to me. I have always shared the “spot
light.”
On my birthday we took our boat out to the ocean! We set out
on a three hour tour… Wait no… we didn’t…. We set out on an adventure. On our
way out we enjoyed tubing behind the boat, watched flocks of Scarlet Ibis fly
by, and enjoyed the cool breeze as we sped along the river.
We reached our destination in the early afternoon. Not only
were we at the ocean, but there was actually a beach! After “parking” the boat everyone unloaded
our picnic and we sat down to eat. I enjoyed fresh squeezed orange juice,
homemade “manapua” (biscuits with filling inside), perfect papaya, and molasses
cookies! Our stomachs were full so we decided to walk the beach. I loved the
feeling of having my feet in the sand. As we walked some sets of waves came in
and the ocean was so tempting. I had to go in! There is something about just
being in the water that just feels right. I can’t explain it… But, I’m sure it
is a feeling that others understand. While I was in my bubble of happiness I
mentioned to one of the others that I couldn’t be any happier. Then a tour boat
came in with a group of local nurses and doctors. One of them had never seen
the ocean before! He was ecstatic! He was definitely happier than I, but his
happiness just multiplied my happiness. We had to leave the beach before 5:00
pm because the sand flies would come out. If it wasn’t for those flies I could
have stayed there for hours more.
On our way back we ran into a tropical rain down poor. We
got soaking wet and freezing cold. Who ever thought I would need full blast
heat here in Guyana. We piled into the car and made it a sauna. A nice warm
soup with homemade crackers was a welcome site when I arrived at home. Finally,
at the end of the day, I was able to call my sister and wish her a happy
birthday. Our first birthday apart was
easier that both of us expected. Thanks to the people around us we felt
celebrated and loved.
No comments:
Post a Comment