Celebrating All the Tiny Wins
This is HARD. I am frequently overwhelmed, stuck, and feel incapable. However I am celebrating the “tiny wins” that I manage, whenever they occur. It seems silly, and it helps me to remember that I lived on my own, responsible for EVERYTHING in my life, for many years. And I can do it again. Bills – I have found most of the login information I need to continue to pay our bills on time. I never really thought about the…
My well-being is a house of cards
It has been 74 days since the Basha died. My brain seems to be coming back. I am remembering the Spanish that I’d learned. My phone and the computer aren’t as incomprehensible as they were before. I’ve even cooked for myself (a few times). I have been getting out and socializing with friends. I smile. I laugh. Sometimes I feel almost normal. Then, something out-of-the-blue will hit me and I’ll be falling all over again. Grief overwhelms me. I feel…
23March chilaquiles – Ocean Café & a surprise
On the recommendation of a friend, I went to Ocean Café on Agustin Arriola this morning for the “Chilaquiles Quest”. I was a little later than usual leaving today, but it turned out to be for the best. The classic car club had a first day of spring parade along the Malecón today. The one that got me to stop and pay attention was the Mystery Machine. All the owners/drivers were so happy to have people taking pictures of their…
Registro Civil and a Catch-22
It took 3 weeks for me to gather all the needed documents for the Registro Civil (equivalent to the County Clerk’s office). On 11Feb (23 days since the Basha’s death) with the documents (birth certificates and marriage license) and the CERTIFIED translations of all of them. They reviewed the documents and told me that all of the documents had to apostilled (certified as legitimate in the US) before they could be accepted. This is a problem. A good friend talked…
Death in a Foreign Language – Day 2
The Basha died on a Sunday. So the following day, Monday, my friends and I met Eva from the funeral home at the government buildings to wade through the paperwork. I was numb, and had forgotten virtually all the Spanish I’d ever learned, so having friends to guide me, and translate for me, was necessary and amazing. We went to the first office, and were told by the receptionist to leave our documents (birth certificates, marriage license) and go to…
Death in a foreign language – Day 1
A.K.A. Bureaucracy BLOWS Government paperwork is horrible, no matter how you look at it. In another language, the paperwork, processes, and expectations take on GARGANTUAN proportions. Unlike any deaths that I have been touched by in the United States, the Mexican process *could* be considered swift and organized. However as the person who has just lost the love of their life, and can barely speak English through the grief, it was a nightmare-ish vortex. Thank goodness for the friends, community,…
Restarting My Life
When I decided to start a blog I had big ideas. As time wore on my ideas became smaller and life took over so I rarely posted. I am now in a place where I have to start over. Square one. Everything I assumed, and took for granted, has changed. The Doctora is restarting her life. January 19th my world disintegrated. The love of my life, my soul-mate, my best friend, and my lover, died. The Basha has left the…
Sticky Nights & Birthdays
It is not what you think! It gets VERY hot and sweaty here in the summertime. The “snowbirds” go back north, and in the height of the heat, even Mexican nationals do not come in large numbers. So to draw a crowd, and to keep the “summer survivors” happy the municipality hosts monthly FREE open air concerts at the Kiosco on the Malecon. These evenings are called “Noches Pegajosas” or “Sticky Nights”. We have had some amazing Mexican and American…
Health 2024 – not the best year so far
It is late-summer 2024 (or second summer in this part of Mexico). The year began well, there were some hiccups in the spring, and then things headed south in early June. I can say, now, after the chaos, it could have been much worse. After 4 years here, I decided that it was time to start collecting all the health care providers that I was used to in the US. You don’t usually think about it until you move –…
Summer in the (near) tropics
Living in the sunny climes of BCS is a dream – most of the time. The occasional hurricane – Hillary was our latest, and she didn’t produce much – and the monsoon-type rains and 100+ degree temps are the “dark side” to living here. We are mostly protected, and don’t get the brunt of most storms, but we still get our fair share, and the infrastructure isn’t built for large quantities of rain. WHY? – you ask. Don’t these sorts…