The last few days mom, Greg, Kate and Jorge have been all consumed with the preparations for a Christmas party for a temporary state run kids home. I’ve been having a tough time adjusting to the altitude and have needed to sleep lots. I’ve enjoyed cooking the last few days and being able to share the food which is much more inspiring then cooking solo which I did a lot of when I was house sitting.
Yesterday all the hecticness came to a head and the party happened. When we arrived at the massive cement prison-like home in the morning it was like arriving in a zoo of children. The boys’ and girls’ ages ranged from the youngest being about one, to the oldest girl being about twenty-five with some mental challenges. Many of the other children also had mental challenges of various degrees. The eldest was really really sweet. During the bus ride to the place where the party was held she kept singing on the bus and kissing my cheek. The party was held on a beautiful peace of land that is made available to state employees for little holidays or picnics.
From the beginning I noticed a rather cute and sad looking boy that my heart went out to right away. Our guess was that he is autistic and turned out to be the trickiest of the kids. He managed to get through the gates of the compound several times before the guard caught him. He wasn’t able to speak but communicated in a grunting and gesture manner that caught my heartstrings. By the end of the day he only wanted to be in my arms, holding tightly to my neck. It was really tough to let him go.
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