What if we lived in the countryside? What if all our neighbors were to live in
extreme poverty? What if my husband,
neighbors and I all have distinct native tongues? What if there are terrifying crawling
critters and winged things with which I must cross paths?
Life is certainly uncertain.
It always is. Sometimes we just
don’t realize it until we come to a definitive junction where great changes are
inevitable. That’s where we’ve come to
now.
Igor is putting in long hours studying for his boards in a
week. Iris is wishing she could crawl,
drooling over the food on her parents’ plates, and dreaming of all the
mischievous things she will do when she’s just a little more coordinated. I am researching possible locations for us to
move to come May, wondering how many more hurdles we’ll come upon trying to
take care of Iris and my immigration and nationalization paperwork, and often asking
myself, “What if…?”
The aforementioned inquiries are all valid. Peru has many indigenous languages. One of Igor’s top priorities in selecting a
sight for his rural medical service from those offered to him is that it be one
of the poorest districts in the country.
The jungle lurks with unknown and venomous creatures and I haven’t the
slightest idea what to consider about mountainous wildlife.
Since resigning from my job and spending my time at home
with Iris and Igor (while he studies), I’ve realized that I have less of a plan
for the near future now that I’ve probably ever had. As an individual with a Type A personality, I’ve
always had a plan. Elementary school. Junior high and high school. Then Germany and the back-up plan of
college. By the middle of my last year
of college, Kenya was planned. Then a
Fulbright year, a wedding, and a job as an English teacher. Now all I know is that my job is to be there
for my family in this next year wherever it takes us—be that the desert, the
Andes, or the Amazon Rainforest. Will
Iris become American? Will I become
Peruvian? Will Igor become an
English-speaking doctor?
What if we could go back in time and re-do some things? What if we could fast forward and see what
lies ahead to ward off the concerns we are beset with? What if we just take life one day at a time
or even one hour or one minute at a time enjoy its simple moments and I
remember just a little more often the blessing in disguise of living in a
chaotic, inefficient, developing nation that doesn’t allow me to plan or at
least dashes most of the ones that I make?
I’ll try just a little bit harder.
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