What a delightful 24th birthday! Susannah’s fresh bread was so gorgeous. It rose really quickly and grew so big with the heat here. I got to use the Internet to write my mom, dad, Jeff, and Theo, which was super nice. Mom even got to call down here and talk to me. It was nice to hear her voice.
Woke up to a fresh cup of Costa Rican coffee, pancakes, and fresh mango with guava syrup this morning. It’s a slightly overcast day. The soil is very dry. We just watched Don Louis harvest a yucca plant. You use a tool called macana that is great for digging things up. Little Luna was just biting at my heels. David read from his book this morning. He chose to read the Rainbow Gathering section for my birthday. His descriptions of the festival and his experience of hearing “Welcome Home Brother, Love to you my Brother” from strangers are very emotionally charged and touching. It made me want to write down my perceptions of profound experiences and exceptional moments of my life.
We prepared a picnic of Fresh Bread, Taylor Salad (carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes,onions, mangos, balsamic, and honey) fresh butter, tomato slices, guava jam, star fruit jelly, and hard-boiled eggs from the chickens. We planned to go down to the junta (intersection) of La Perla and Destierro with her friend Rachel and her mother. Susannah waited back for her friends to come as Devon and I walked down the path until it started pouring rain! We went under the palm trees for shelter but it started to come down harder and we made a dash for the barn because Devon had her camera. It was the hardest it has rained since we got here. Susannah looked majestically beautiful as she walked down the drive in her Hawaiian blue dress and red umbrella carrying the freshly baked bread like a baby. The Tica guests hadn’t arrived yet and we couldn’t predict how hard it would keep raining. None of us wanted soggy bread so we decided to return to the Garden Village kitchen to break bread and venture out afterwards. David joined us for a pleasant lunch and good conversation when all the sudden our visitors arrived! It’s custom as it is in Puerto Rico to show up casually late. Susannah went out to greet them only to find out the whole family had come to celebrate!
We quickly cleared off the table and scrambled to make room for them. Rachel is three weeks away from having a child! I wish I could have spoken more Spanish with them. They were a very kind family. You could tell they were a unit. They loved Susannah’s bread and they love her. The whole experience was exceptionally special. I cherished every moment of it.
Eventually we headed down to the water. Devon and I jumped in — it was like being blessed. Unreal. Surreal. Phenomenal. Supernatural. Blissful. I got out and the entire family sang Happy Birthday to me in Spanish while clapping and sincerely, smiling. They were gentle and kind, teaching me words in Spanish as we walked. I asked them how to say I’m grateful in Spanish and found out the best translation is “Yo estoy agradecido.”
Susannah and Devon cut up the vegetables for my birthday soup and I put on my Mom’s blue dress to get ready as ABBA played in the background. David cut wood for a fire. The soup was cooked on their outdoor stone stove that Stone, Jess, and their friends built. Devon and I walked down to the Lecheria (Susannah’s sister Barbara) and bought chocolate, passion fruit, and strawberry ice cream. When we got back dinner was ready and we all ate around the awesome fire that David built. It seemed fitting, as Aries is a fire sign. It tasted so good and healing. I’m lucky to have gotten to spend time here in this jungle with the infinite wisdom and nurturing hearts surrounding me. I feel extremely loved. It’s so sweet to take the time to let those you love know. It means so much to me. I now have reaffirmed to myself that I am still in fact on the path that I want to be on and have always been on. Wandering on, I am definitely not lost. With that I am going to rest my head and look forward to another full day tomorrow.
Diane Beck
Cool water birthday splash
Happy Birthday Diane!