QUE CASUALIDAD!!

What a coincidence! I decided to walk into town this morning, pick up a few things, and take the bus back, hoping to encounter the same bus driver I had on Sunday when my phone went missing. As I was walking down the hill, the bus was coming up. He stopped and gave me my phone! What a great experience.

Here’s another sweet experience interacting with the locals. I was chatting on WhatsApp with Jose from Villa San Miguel about renting a place from him for next year. At one point he said, “Tu me caes bien!” In English: I like you!” I had been struggling with that phrase. Now I will never forget it…well, one hopes. The way I will remember it is, that a more literal translation to English would be saying, “I fall well with you.” I love that. I can imagine falling into the other person and just loving how that experience feels.” I think many people want to do that.

He said he liked my energy, and I liked his. How can I not love a businessman who responds with a sticker of a puppy with a bowtie giving a hive-five? I am hoping there is a place available there for me next year. I anticipate a good time. It already feels like a great opportunity to speak more Spanish.

I took a shower with a scorpion this morning. Last weekend, when the power was out, I was going down the stairs to pee. With my flashlight, I spotted a scorpion on the step. I figured I was not going to try my capture routine with no light, so I just put a glass over him and explained that he would just have to live there for the night. When I got up the next morning, and went down the stairs again, the scorpion was gone. It had escaped through one of the tunnels created by the grout in the tile.

So, when I went to shower this morning, I noticed the foot mat had fallen to the floor. As has become my practice, I picked it up and shook it over the shower stall floor. Sure enough, he fell out. The water was already on, and he hightailed it (literally) up the shower wall. He curled up in a little ball, and there he remains.

I have a number of fun events coming up. I’m having the gang over for breakfast Saturday morning. We are also going to play with the Virtual Reality. I so want to put Beth in the jungle with the gorillas and Nancy somewhere in a Disney setting.

On Sunday, Barb and Murray are having a pizza party to introduce everyone to their friend, Ed, who is visiting from Massachusetts.

On Monday evening, Lois and Buzz are returning from Panama City, and I’m having them over for dinner.

On 3/5, I’m having dinner here with my neighbors: Lois, Buzz, Jude and Cheryl, as well as Betty.

On 3/6, Natalie invited Sally and me to her house for a luncheon playdate

I was putting off having people here because I don’t have a dining area, but it seems that the huge couch and coffee table are working out. I’m getting my fix. I’ve been hearing people talking about “love languages.” I don’t know what they all are, but I think mine is feeding people.

Two movies I highly recommend: The Wonder and The Father. The former made me very happy I escaped Ireland when I did, and the latter made me love Anthony Hopkins even more than I did before. I have informed Dan not to watch this second one. Hopkins’ character not only looks like Don, but his behavior was almost exactly like Don’s.

There is a scene where he walks into the living room and asks a man sitting in a chair, reading a newspaper, who he was and why was he in his flat? The man in the chair was his son-in-law. I remember one day sitting on a couch with Don, and he turned to me and said, “Who are you?” My heart sank.

As painful as the movie was, however, I’m happy I watched it. It was recommended by my Soul Matters class. The title of this month’s packet is The Path of Vulnerability. It is such a good human lesson to accept our vulnerability at every stage of life. I even felt a sense of it while watching the movie because it intentionally confuses the viewer. This movie reminded me of reading Tuesdays with Morrie. I almost wrote Tuesdays with Murray, that would have been a completely different book.

Wow! That turned into a longer post than I expected. I just felt like writing. I’m finding that I am enjoying it more and more.