love from peru and a shot of reality

dearest kids, Mom, gang and friends,

thank you all for the wonderful thanksgiving... skype was so much fun and i loved all of your shadows and hearing your voices and stories... . you were exactly what i needed! gracias..

if the world was always kind this story would not have happened.... looking forward to a day with my boys i decided to try to get them , and me, into some version of a schedule, so today will be the beginnng of this... i arrive to the announcement of new boys.. and their story..
the father killed the mother. there are four children.. two here and two others somewhere else..
they are swinging and quiet... sitting on the edge of the sidewalk, a small gathering of boys quiet with interest bunch together in front of them... it is hot compounded with the cement and they are all layered in versions of warm.. like all of peru. despite temperatures that rise to mid twenties, long pants,usually jeans or black, layers of tops and jackets and shoes, socks and hats are the rule... only tourists and visitors bare arms or legs..
david, the older of the two is about 10 and the younger boy maybe 6... they are dirty and worn.. david's shoes , the typical rubber sandals from tires are about an inch too small and his toes stretch out the tops, nails stained and disfigured.. he is soft and quiet... so is his brother..

with a little commotion the boys are stirred and into the study we go gathering paint, paper and water along the way... the crowd is small and co-operation is becoming routine... desks once scattered are neatly lined in the middle of the room and chairs tuck quietly into them... one by one the bottoms of plastic pop bottles cut to size , are filled with liquid paint and brushes are tucked in a large jar ready for selection, cracked plastic cups hold water... the boys take their seats and when they are organized i ask them if they would like a piece of paper... we have been rehearsing for weeks now our request... which is,... may i please have a piece of paper? and one by one they ask... and one by one they get a piece ..yes you may.. i believe they know what they are saying.. i write out the words......brushes are personally selecteed and the artists begin... there is no limit to paper today.. the office has been generous..

painting goes on and on... gabriel, my little rangatang, is becoming one of my best english students and he is more calm and happy.. he paints forever... there is no need to hurry i have all the time in the world... three boys are left... our new david and his little brother and gabriel.... opposite me is david... he is standing up painting.. earlier his pictures were of our flags side by side.. with a motorbus beneath taking me home.. then the bus switched to a plane... then pictures later... he explained to me in motion.. this is my father.. and this is my mother.. and this is the gun... and then took his arms into the air and with an invisible gun became his father and shot his mother... the colours were green and yellow... i said i am sorry.. what can you say ..... nothing....nothing....nothing....

the pictures were lined into rows to dry and later the helper that comes at 3... hung them on the wall .. including the picture that david made of the murder..


the rest of the day went better.. maximo staff took me to Brazil avenue to a private child care center.. the neighbourhood is very nice.. the houses nicer than in Santa Monica where i am living.. the facility has large wooden doors with a small secret door cut into one large door...inside the floor is tiled and a large window displays a living room with tables and a comfy seating area... we are in the foyer.. inside.. the owner comes to the second door.. she is tall and older with a wide toothy smile.. as warm as toast.. the two staff members speak to her about me.. the deal was fluent in spanish.... well i am far from it . but what do babies need...

i am given the tour... the facility is privately funded.. there are 40 children three and under.. mostly toddlers and eight under 1.. i will be with the babies.. but i must say the toddlers are beautiful... even though some of them are three they are not like our canadian babies. .. they are so little and short and grampa hodgson would have confused me with all of them as they have so much hair..... you would think ll the toddlers are one they are so little..
the place is quite nice... by peruvian standards very nice... a large stairway that splits in the middle, like at treasure island.. leads me to the nursery and change room.. sleeping quarters... full of cribs all the same..wooden ..in a row... they all match with white bumper pads and bedding.. little pillows fill the tops... beneath each a basket is placed with a clipboard for recording details of each little one... ..at the ceiling two lights hang with stuffed animals on swings wrapped in a soft blanket for quiet lighting.. it is a dream place for babies.. on the opposite side is a counter and a sink, it is clean and the furniture is nice... kind of feels like a sleeping beauty and the seven dwarfs set with little beds everywhere..

i am taken to the baby room first because that is where i will be working.. it is small about 10 by 8 and one end is completely windows.. there are two large mats on the floor with small cubes with cutouts for little ones to sit in.. it is very clean and full of toys and mobiles for distraction, two swing seats and lots of colours.. at the window end three rocking seats hold newborns... there are three little weeeeeeeeeee ones... one 28 days old.. one ten month old Rosa (rosita. pet names add ita here in loving affection) . there are four bigger babies.. 6 to 10 months on the floor including a very active baby girl, a placid fluffy haired boy named Alex, Wayheim (sp) who has two bottom teeth, and two eye!!teeth .. perfect in all ways, and Herolda who could be a brother to one of my boys... they are all wonderful ..

i stay and am immediately put to work.. handed one hairy guy.. don´t know his name .. he is cocooned like he is in a papoose ... and a bottle... within seconds i swing into that wonderful old familiar after twenty five year routine and i have no cares in the world...

there are two girls on staff... lucy and another one, who i believe is the nurse.. each ward has at least one nurse and she and lucy are both extremely loving entertainers, exercisers, and mothers to this wee family... it seems like the babies are being constantly fed... we try to talk but chatter mostly to the babies... this will come...

two hours quickly pass... i forgot how strong you have to be.. and will have to adjust to three to four hours on the floor.... by the time i leave, the babies are all fed... changed and quietly tucked into their wooden rocking beds... the light is soft... the blankets are white, bottles are propped onto blankets with tiny faces attached.. asleep... already...

i am blessed to be here and with my boys... and i will sleep tonight.


all my love to you, hugggggggggggggggsssssssss and kkkissssssssssssessss,
mom, me...