Snippets of the past week

Over the weekend, Iris and I got together with a group of friends from the women's circle that we participate in.  We celebrated various talents that we have with some women making food to share, others teaching us how to make handcrafts, another teaching us a circular dance, one telling jokes to make us laugh, another singing and me playing my flute while Iris blew on her recorder.  We had a lovely evening spent with beautiful personalities.

October is the month of Señor de Los Milagros (Lord of the Miracles) in Peru.  Devout Peruvian Catholics dress in purple robes and adore the image of Christ that had been painted in Lima by an Angolan slave that had been brought to this country.  During the earthquake of 1655, the only thing left standing in the area with the mural of Jesus Christ and it was fully intact.  It was declared a miracle and to this day, large processions go on all over the country thoughout the month.  Featured below are a few pictures of a small procession that went by our house this week.   

Iris has loved shoes for months now.  It was one of her first words and her love for shoes has moved on to not only looking at and pointing out everyone's shoes, but also putting on any shoes or sandals of mine that are not put out of reach or out of sight.

the chaotic, busy, and sometimes tough life of Agoris

The past two months since we've been back in Peru have been chaotic, busy and at times overwhelming.    

Last weekend, Igor was able to come back to spend a few days with Iris and me and to attend his sister’s wedding.  We spent some much needed time together at the city playground, on the floor in our apartment littered with toys and animal flashcards, and running errands as a family.  After showing Igor about five minutes of resentment when he first arrived, Iris gave him love, kisses and laughter galore before he had to return to the rainforest.  The following day was hard on us all, especially Iris who found the shirt Igor had worn the day before and carried it around calling out for her papa. 

While Igor attends to numerous patients daily at his medical post, Iris keeps me on my toes as I constantly have to ask her to sit (not stand or jump) on furniture or not to climb onto the table.   In those rare moments when she decides to behave like a proper little lady and entertain herself in a not-so-dangerous fashion, I attempt to get housework done as well as do work for the online classes I teach for the university.  Much of those tasks must be completed after she goes to bed for the night.  

Those are our routines… or lack of them as we do what we can and know that time ticks by, changes occur, but it also brings us closer to the end of December when we’ll be together again, if only for a few days.