Santiago Splurges

We were in the "big" city today: Santiago, or la segunda capital, as Dominicans say. We roamed around the gleaming aisles of the ultra-bourgoise Nacional grocery store, which would put any US store (yes, even Publix), to shame.

We couldn't pass up the seedless red grapes, baby carrots, crisp green asparagus, Fugi apples, romaine lettuce, and portabello mushrooms. We used to go straight for the Double Stuff Oreo's, but after a year of the same limp, wilted, dirt-caked (albeit organic) produce, we're drawn to varied, colorful, crisp fruits & veggies like moths to a flame.

We also picked up our mail. (We have a US address, and Agape flies our mail in once a week. We can only pick it up on Thursdays from 11-12 in a city that is 2.5 hours away.) Needless to say, we don't pick up our mail very often.

Today, we were delighted to receive the following:

~ A 3 month portrait of Nathan Carter (now almost a year old)

~ Goodies from Mom (Hallelujah, Hot Tamales!)

~ My brother's law school graduation announcement (May 19)

~ Supplies, teaching aids, and ideas from TJ's sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Myers.

~ Birthday card for TJ (August 26)

~ And my personal favorite: a Christmas card we sent (almost a year ago) to Summer & Eric Millican, "returned to sender, address unknown."

Truly, it made us so happy to receive these unexpected mementos from "home." A reminder that we have another life, that this is not the only place we belong. That although we sometimes feel alone and disconnected, there are so many people who are behind us, loving us still... even if it takes us three months to pick up the card.