First rain & birthdays galore

We had our first rain of the season early this morning. Yesterday afternoon about 5 or so, there were some clouds (although we still had sun here) and we could hear thunder some distance away. However, it wasn’t until almost 2 a.m. before a thunderstorm began. There was a fair amount of lightning and thunder over the next hour or so. It did rain, although it was not heavy. This morning we did find a few places in the street where the water had been flowing. I looked up this blog for last year and discovered that the first rain last year was on May 12th, only 4 days after we moved into our house here. I had forgotten that it was that early. It was cooler today, but more humid (according to our little humidity indicator, it was around 50% today). That may seem low compared to up north, but it has been hovering 25-35%, more or less, for months. Anyway, the heavier rains did not really come until June and July last year.

We are having a busy time these days. Today was Fatima’s third birthday; we got a big cake and bucket of ice cream. They dressed Fatima in a lovely dress and fixed her hair. Here she is with her proud godparents. We had asked Elvia what she thought Fatima needed. She said, “Dress shoes” but with accents, Barbara thought she heard, “Red shoes.” Barb spent 4 hours running around yesterday and then again today--nada decent red shoes. We did get some sandals, but they barely fit. Thus, late this afternoon we went back to the shoe store (called “Canada") and got some dress shoes.

Then we found out today, that tomorrow afternoon is the monthly picnic for godparents and children; somehow we got left off the list for the notice. Elizabeth and Elvia were wondering when we had said nothing about attending; with so many snowbird godparents away, they really want all who live here to go. We have agreed to pick up our three and possibly a teenage girl in our car. It’s the same venue as the March picnic, about 8 miles or so east of Chapala. They have a big pool.

Then, we have another birthday party on Sunday for Yuliana, the baby sister of Fatima; she will be 1 year old on Monday, but Elvia wants it on Sunday. I think that Sunday afternoons are slow; there is no school and there is not the schedule of things going on that takes place during the week. Elizabeth and Elvia always look a bit worn out when we take the girls back around 6. Elvia has had Yuliana since she was less than a month old. She says, “She’s 'my' baby.” Elizabeth teases Elvia and calls Yuliana, “The Princess”. I had thought that Elvia might say to combine the birthdays in one celebration when they are so close together as the housemothers have extra work--however, not for Elvia’s princess! To be honest, Yuliana is just about the best baby I have ever seen. She always smiles and never cries; she never ‘acts strange’, even with strangers who pick her up.

We won’t have other birthdays for a while. Elizabeth’s son, Leo, is next in July. The twins’ birthday is not until September. One little boy, José, who was brought to the center a little over a month ago and is being sponsored by Barb's sister Wendy, was found in a cave. No one knows exactly how old he is or when his birthday is. If they are not successful in getting more information, some date will have to be selected arbitrarily to give him a celebration. There is a problem because children who do not have a birth certificate are not allowed to go to school. Anabel and her assistant, Dina, have become very proficient at tracking down this kind of info and documents, but José is a real challenge.