Friday, February 19, 2010

Mr. Chris and the wife

We're moving, nowhere far just a couple miles down the road, yet those couple of miles change a lot in our life. The house we've lived in was the first place we became a family. My husband and I shared our first years of marriage in this home. In this home, we came home from the hospital with a brand new baby boy in our arms. I remember my neighbors seeing my pregnancy progress and they gladly took a peek of our new bundle of boy. As the years went on, we got to know our next-door neighbors. Morning greetings were a norm and the occasional " can we borrow your ladder?" were common interfaces with them. As our bundle of boy grew so did his desire to explore not just our home, but also our next-door neighbors home. They would graciously allow us to walk our children through their Christmas decorations and would sometimes give us things they thought we could use. A couple of summers ago our neighbor Chris was painting the outside of his house. There he was painting and as always had an unlit cigar hanging from the side of his mouth. Samuel was fascinated and when Mr. Chris allowed him to "help,” Mr. Chris became Samuel's friend. As Samuel grew a little older, he would ask to go say hi to the neighbors. I would let him go, they would say hello, and he would run home. On one occasion, Samuel went to the door and asked Mr. Chris " where's the wife?” They keep an extra fridge in their garage stocked with cold water bottles and about once a week, Samuel asks if he can go get water from them. He claims their water just taste better than ours. For Christmas, we gave them a big pack of water. So, as I began packing I realized this relationship Samuel has cultivated with them is now coming to an end. I can't help but feel a little tinge of pain knowing that where we move will probably not afford us this same experience. After all, they've known Samuel his whole life! I pondered about how much of this friendship Samuel will retain and then it struck me. When I was a little girl, we had an older couple living next door to us. The husband was tall, wore glasses and smoked cigars, just like Mr. Chris. I remember going to their house by myself and just saying hi or playing with their dog. I remember feeling safe and loved by this couple. So, as I reflect on Samuel's experience I can't help but see how full circle life can be. To this day, I love Don Celso and Blanca, they became one of my best child hood memories and I'm so glad to know that Samuel will be able to look back and fondly remember Mr. Chris and "the Wife.”
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