Our Bearings: they have been found and embraced

From Wednesday

Last night we unpacked our suitcases and ate our first home-cooked meal in weeks. (Geraldo made potato leek soup and added fish from the market, for those interested.) The kids, who have been holding it together very well, relaxed a little bit knowing where they'll be resting their heads for the next five months. The radiators at the house where we're staying are heated by a central wood stove, so we made a fire and sank into our chairs. The kids tussled and cried a little bit at the start of the night, which I welcomed because I think it meant they felt safe and secure enough to be vulnerable.

This morning we all found each other again from under our heavy blankets, and Geraldo

warmed the kitchen with the wood stove while he boiled our coffee and eggs.

In the rain and deep dark of pre-dawn the kids went off to school, with Geraldo driving a rented 4x4 down rutted dirt roads, finding a way to cooperate with the neighbor's cows for space to pass. He'll stay in town for the morning since we don't have internet out here yet, and bring Idris home when the 1st Graders get out on Wednesdays, noon.

And I sit here as the roosters crow, rooting as easily as a weed in soft, rainy soil, watching the first sunrise from our home-for-now, address simply: Cabo Blanco Alto.