Lili's Eyes

I spoke with Lili and Karyme yesterday.

Every time I hear their delicate voices through a choppy connection, I picture where they are standing. It is that same spot that I stood in so many times, hoping the call wouldn't drop with a loved one from the states. It's the spot just outside the kitchen area, where the smoke from the wood-burning stove burns my eyes.

The stray dogs are gathered in a tiny heard in front of me, peering up at me with puppy eyes and floppy ears, hoping I will open the door to the kitchen. The chickens are wandering around aimlessly, waiting for Lili to give them their morning feed and the kitty is perched on the clay tile roof, licking her paws from her nightly endeavors.

I know that "molino" that grinds the morning corn, soon to be rolled, patted & flopped upon the clay "comal". I know that dog that growls in the background (Terry). I close my eyes and I see Nina Doris washing clothes by the "pila" and Nena making me some scrambled eggs in the kitchen.

I don't know the voice that says "hola Jaime, la extraniamos, como esta".

Is it Lili? or Karyme?

Why can't I tell? :(

They have gotten older since I first met them. You can tell because Lili's curls are longer and her teeth are... there.

You can tell because Karyme doesn't have that pudgy baby fat rolling and creasing all over her Dora-the-Explorer sized body.

You can tell because their voices sound the same.

Or, do their voices sound the same because it has been so long since I have seen them? This is Lili, the first month I met her (5):

I fell in love with her instantly. It was her eyes. They told the story of a deep soul. They were dark with a painful past, but deep with a child's wisdom. They flooded easily, but forgave sincerely. They looked at me with a longing and found in me an understanding.

It was her smile. It did not want to come out at first. It hid behind a skepticism. It thought it wasn't suppose to. But then it came. Like a rainbow. 

It was her hands. Afraid to touch. Gentle. Hesitant. Her fingers finding the freckles on my arms. A hug that leaves me aching. 

This is Karyme (3), Lili's cousin by blood, but sister by nature.

If you are not in the mood to smile, or laugh, you don't have a choice. She runs the town...and while she may have the power in pure cuteness, but her words will floor you. She once kicked a drunk guy off her property.

We have had many conversations about girl troubles, hairstyles and future jobs.

She has no idea why they placed her in Kindergarten this year.

I suppose it's needless to write the words "I miss them." I suppose you know I have tears streaming down my face right now. I suppose you have fallen in love, as well.

I cannot wait for the day when I see them again. It musn't be too long, because... because it musn't. 

Teaching mama how to use facebook has paid off because I'm kept "up to date" with photos. Here they are on our newly paved road: 

I'm supposed to be right in between them :(

I have to admit, that road pains me a little. Oh how many times I complained about the dirt and the rocks and the mud...but wasn't that what made it all so fun? You boring cement you. 

What makes a place beautiful is it's people. What makes a place a home, is it's people. What makes the world turn round, is the people...and I'm totally convinced there's a really great one who was picked to keep spinning it.

Lili & Karyme were those people for me in El Salvador. They gave me a reason to stay, when I wanted to leave. They made me laugh, when I was already crying. They made me have hope, when I was ready to say "I'm never going to 'be the change'!"

They are the reason for this: http://www.byhappiness.org . 

And no matter what happens... with the organization, with my job, with my 'home', with life...

I am so very grateful I set foot in that joyful land, in that beautiful mountainside, with those munchkin faces. 

I see the world through a new set of eyes. 

A pair of eyes I share with Lili.

And for that, I am everyday grateful.