El Sol

The sun, here in Spain, is glorious. Contrary to the belief of many, Spain does not have perfect, sunny weather all year 'round, though it is rather milder than New England. No, during the winter temperatures do drop a bit, sometimes a fair bit and although this year seems to be a terrible example, I am told that many times it snows.

But the sun is glorious. It is so bright, sometimes even while it is raining and when it's not it makes the sky an incredibly blue blue. I think my favorite part of Spain is her sun.

  In my first experiences with Spanish rainstorms I was rather impressed with how light it was outside anyhow. Now it seems I am rather accustomed to it. Last week and a little before it rained nearly every single day and the days that weren't rainy were cloudy. Four days ago, every cloud vanished, and the sky and sun shone blindingly bright.  My only wish was that I couldn't open the windows and let the light swirl in like the fresh breezes were. To make up for what the laws of physics lacked in that department I decided to got for a walk with little Bruno my almost 11 month- old charge.

His mother and I tucked him into a baby- carrier hiking backpack and with the straps firmly buckled around my too-narrow hips we set off. It was beautiful. The ground was wet from all the rain and enormous puddles had grown in the middle of the paths. Bruno chatted in my left ear and kicked his little shoes lightly against my back. There's a young horse that lives close by and when we went to see him Bruno began to kick and cackle with excitement.

It is amazing what a little sun can do. The sun made my week, I think, and it was a very good week. Have a wonderful weekend.

Kika

A Very Belated Feliz Reyes!

I have discovered my favorite holiday so far here in Spain and want to write about it before it is totally out of season…I am almost too late, and I apologize for the tardiness of this post.

I had been out at La Cabalgata de los Reyes Magos (the parade of the Three Kings) in my village with some friends and was relaxing at home the night of the fifth, when I heard a little voice outside my door and some furtive tapping on the door. Opening it I found the little almost-three-year old clutching his of- the-moment favorite two plastic animals (a tiger and a small tiger). Asking him to repeat what he had been saying I was told that he needed two of my shoes to set out for the three kings. Together we found my nicest pair and went downstairs to put them next to the four other pairs set out in preparation. Leo was practically wiggling with excitement as his dad came in with the two trays, one piled with sweets and dates and three glasses of wine, and the other with a bowl of water, bread and carrots. It was carefully explained to me that the first was for the three Kings and the second for their camels. As Leo bent down to pick up one of the glasses of wine, it was explained to him once again. In his excitement, I think the process had to be explained about three times…it wasn’t easy, but he was finally gotten to bed with his little brother who seemed rather even keeled about the whole thing. After waiting a little for him to be properly asleep I gathered my wrapped gifts for my Spanish family and brought them downstairs and placed each package by the appropriate shoe.

The next day Leo must have decided to sleep in a little…I didn’t get a knock on my door until 8:30. Grabbing a sweater I stumbled downstairs to join the festivities. Christmas had arrived in Spain. Aside from the many, many toys the Kings had left, other beautifully wrapped packages for the older folks. All were unwrapped and delighted over and kisses for the special day exchanged. Later that afternoon we went to the house of Leo’s grandmother where, amidst food and family, the good cheer I craved for the holiday grew and swirled and warmed all that were there.

The magic is not so closely felt anymore. The season has passed. But I have discovered once again the magic of Christmas, the power of one day, to make everything seem collected and right again. My only regret is that I did not write my experience sooner, for perhaps if I had you would understand the joy and warmth of that day, the kind that seems to be lit by the smiles of children and angels, the kind that are filled with the smiles that come from the inner divine within us celebrating.

As life goes back to its normal schedule let the monotony of living not weigh us down, or let us forget those memories made in the last year, the last few days of holiday, that made us laugh or moved us.

God Bless you this week.

Kika

There is another way of looking back over the year. Instead of how little you accomplished, look at how much! A year, that's 364 days, to fill with breathing and talking and learning and crying and regretting and learning all over again...It almost never felt like it at the time, but every day last year was a step forward to who I am today. That's a nice thought: that no matter how pointless a day might have seemed, as 2011 arrives it brings with it perspective. That day was a step, not a very exciting step, but it was a step nonetheless. We, Creation, Humanity, are intrinsically designed to move forward and so we do, sometimes slowly, sometimes with great speed, sometimes laughing and so many other times crying. But we are moving forward, we are going somewhere, we are, dare I say, progressing.

So whether you have spent your first day of 2011 nursing a hangover, enjoying the company of your loved ones or a little bit of everything I hope today is the start of another wonderful year, a clean slate which, like those tempting chalkboards at school, we can fill with equations and work, but doodles and smiley faces too.

Have a great year.

Kika