A calm weekend

After a very busy month of cold and flu in the clinic, I was surprised at how it seemed to just Peter out (I never quite knew why my name got assigned that phrase)! By Thursday, I was looking for things to do. And Friday seemed like it would never end. Dina spent the morning at the orphanage. After work, we had lunch and she relayed the story Sister Brigitte told her about how difficult it is to get a birth certificate in this country. Orphans are shunned. Without a father’s name, a certificate of birth is rarely issued. One of the key reasons are rights which the orphan is denied. A male without his father’s name, cannot become a leader in the mosque. A child born out of wedlock is considered a second class citizen, though no one will admit that.

Saturday was casual. I started reading a memoir Dina got glued to called, “The Glass House” by Jeannette Walls. It’s about this insane family and how the kids are for the most part, completely ignored while they are growing up and how they manage to survive and turn out to be decent people. Later that evening we all went to the Hash with our friend Fabio. The weather was perfect. The setting was along a creek with lush vegetation. It was my first run since before I left for the States and both Fabio and I noticed how out of shape we had become. Dina and the kids walked.

Sunday was also calm. I read several NY Times and continued to obsess with that book. At evening time, we went to pick up Bethany, a friend of Camille’s, and went to Cocochou. It’s a closed off playground for kids with white sand and slides, climbing structures, and play houses. The porch has tables where you order food and drinks. There are also board games for older kids and adults. The grilled half chickens were spicy and salty but good. The kids liked the beef brochettes and french fries. I had a ginger juice.

It was the first weekend in a month that I didn’t get any phone calls. Sometimes no plans for the weekend turn out to be the best plan.

Now we’re back at it; the kids at school, Dina and I are working, and there are a lot of small things to do that if you don’t will pile up and stress you out in the end. So I’m trying to stay self-motivated. Dina threw in a beef brisket into the crock pot. We had it for dinner with rice and red cabbage salad. Now I need to go read Stefan a bedtime story. Maybe the rest of the week will stay calm too.