Day 67: CDI and Beisbol (this post has fun stories, but no pictures)

Well, I did walk. Obviously, the point of this blog is actually just to record my running journey, so. But, I managed to beat my current best time (while sickish). But, it was not under 25 (l o l), so it will, ultimately, be a red box on my spreadsheet, as it was my last 5k. One more run before I leave. Allegedly tomorrow, though that will be difficult schedule-wise.

7:20 came very early, as promised. But, I got up and we got to the CDI only shortly after I'd have liked to (we needed to stop to get something). Shoot, I still need to get things. Maybe I'll walk to the...no, it'll be closed. Tomorrow or Thursday, I guess. Sheesh. 

Anyway, we had our Tuesday kids back! I've missed the kids the last week or so since the camp. T/R mornings is our youngest group. We had to change around the schedule a bit, since they needed to be at school at weird times. Doña Constanza was a life-saver today. She seems to have a limitless supply of helpful things for preschoolers to do. We finished the verse with these kids today; they did well, but nobody has it anywhere near memorized. 

I walked Jeremy to school earliest. It was just he and I, and he was in a chatty mood. He talked and talked and talked until he needed to stop because he's got asthma and there's a big hill. It was really sweet and fun. I think he had a good vacation. His teacher wasn't ready, so when we got there, I sat with him and the other kids and their parents and he chatted at me some more. 

Juliana was in a  m o o d  today. I think she's the worst-behaved kid we have. Maybe she and Matias can fight for it. When we walked the kids to school, none of the CDI boss ladies came, so I was responsible for her. Basically, if you don't hold her hand, she will 200% just randomly run into traffic. I think Georgen and Doña Maria each told me 2 or 3 times to hold very tightly. About 2 minutes into the walk, she threw the Rice Krispies treat that Doña Constanza had brought for all of the kids as a welcome- back regalo right onto the ground (still wrapped), so I told her I'd keep it in my pocket for her until we got there, so she didn't lose it. There were so many tears (well, not any actual tears, just crying?). So much wailing. "Quiero mi galletaaa." "Todavia es tuya, la estoy guardando, esta bien." meant nothing to her. After a while, she switched tactics to pinching me, so I told her that if she did that again, "yo voy a comer la galleta, y no la vas a recibir." Suddenly, I was walking with the best-behaved child I've ever seen. Crazy. 

Our afternoon session was interesting. The Colorado gringos brought beisbol equipment with them to donate to the CDI. So, we walked to the park with the kids and they threw and practiced batting and generally had the best time ever. Some people from both teams came to help, and a few of them were really good at both engaging with kids and at teaching beisbol. Ohhh, they coach 11-year-olds. What a skill, lol. 

Erick apparently really wants to be a baseball player, and he did very, very well today. I think he had an amazing time. One of the Colorado gringos is even a surdo (southpaw) like Erick, so he could practice and feel what it was like to play with the right kind of glove. 

Axel had a back-and-forth kind of day. He was nervous to start, and didn't want to throw with the team members at first. He struggled a little bit with glove mechanics, and after a while, got discouraged and quit. But, then, sitting on the ground while everyone else had fun wasn't his vibe, so he jumped back in. He mostly got the hang of the whole throw-and-catch thing. The team broke out the bats, and, after being coached a little in how to swing, he was really good at hitting. He was loving that, until he hit a ball into his own nose. At first, he seemed confused, then he decided he was fine. Then, he saw his nose was bleeding and the tears came. I walked him over to sit down and be comforted and deal with his nose bleed, and he sat and cried for a very long time. I basically figured that was the end of his beisbol adventures, but after about 45 minutes of chilling, he jumped back in and had fun the rest of the time. 

We all walked back to the CDI, and, poco a poco, everyone got picked up. The last group was playing Uno for at least 8 straight games. It was a lot of Uno. While they were playing, the teams' bus pulled up, filled to the brim with smiling, waving gringos. One of the kids turned to me, eyes wide, and asked me (but, you know, in Spanish), "Sam?" "What's up?" "What ARE those?" I laughed. Out loud. 

I came home. I napped a little. Tonight, Katie and Izzy went to do a girls' night. Matthew went to find some dinner. I ran (mostly) my 5k. 

Now, I'm about to take a shower and about to do laundry. 

I got to message Alexis a little bit today. It's fun to get little glimpses into the ordinary and cool things that are happening in each other's day-to-day.

PRAYERS

-for us to walk in step with the Spirit

-for good team dynamics

-for our time with the other teams tomorrow to go well

-for our time with Añoranzas y H@ngout to go well tomorrow night

-for the two other teams and the work they are doing to be blessed

-for all the Last Things here

-for all the First Things when we get home

-for NO MORE SICK, plz