And so the whirlwind has subsided (hopefully). We are back on the soil that we have been calling home for the past 3 months. I learned a lot on our trip back East….all in all I am so glad we were there. Yes, it was a little longer than expected, and yes some people gave us a hard time and questioned why we would leave our adventure for 10 days…but you know what? I have no regrets. Mexico will always be here…we can always stay a week longer on our internship…but family will not always be here. And during the hard times it is family that you need most…and they need you most.
My Opa was a great man. He was given such a beautiful, heartfelt memorial service. It was like he had written it himself. It was so apparent how hard he loved people in his life…and even more so how hard they loved him.
The best part about Opa was his ability to befriend everyone - the poorest of the poor or the richest of the rich. He saw no classes, no races, and no need for discrimination. In fact, at the very end of his service the custodian from his assisted living home sang a song to us (his family), that he had written for Opa. It was like nothing I had ever heard…a hopeful song about the days to come.
Of course Opa would be friends with the custodian…he saw everyone’s hearts first. He was the kind of man that brought lemonade to the garbage men outside his home.
Love you, hope you are playing a mean game of tennis up there.
-Joanna, your princess.
