the adventures of dos tortas

The satisfaction gained from the achievement of a large undertaking is one of the most substantial that life affords. The Happiness Project

We’ve been planning the adventure of Dos Tortas for over a year, but as the departure came nearer, we actually began getting closer to familia and friends. People we haven’t seen in years contacted us, invited us for dinner and wanted to hang out before we left. Even family members who we saw every few months went the extra mile to spend time with us. It’s definitely easier to be the leave-er than the leave-ee.

I lived in Japan for two years in the 80’s, before the birth of the internet. Connection was maintained via infrequent phone calls due to the 12-hour time difference, and long letters on blue airmail folding envelopes. Today we have cell phones, Skype, instant messaging, blogging, FB, email and relatively inexpensive flights to and from. Relationships will change and take a bit more effort to maintain but can be as rich as ever. At least that’s what I tell myself. If even half the people who promised to come see us actually show up, we will be very busy tour guides. I hope one of them is you.

We left Austin on Thursday loaded down. There was barely an inch of space left. Open the door of the trailer and something will surely fall on your head! We are resting in San Antonio with our DIL and grandson. The trailer is ready to roll. We are heading a la frontera super early Sunday morning rather than spend la noche en Laredo. By the time this goes to print, we should be through immigration and on our way.

I created a Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/theadventuresofdostortas to help you dear fans follow our daily progress. Please add comments both here and on FB. Otherwise I’ll see you back here next Sunday from somewhere deep in the heart of Mexico.

I remember the day my daughter was born. After months of indigestion, not being able to sleep (due to the gymnast residing in my belly), yeast infections, and a changed center of gravity, I went through this scary, uncertain experience called birth. I was 24 years old. It was painful and I didn’t know how long it would last, but in the end, I got the most beautiful gift…mi hija. Those were the days when you had to wait for someone to announce, “It’s a girl” or boy. After she was born, I was amazed at my body that had grown a child, birthed it into the world and was fully equipped to feed her. I had very little to do with it really, but I had faith and trust in this miraculous process.

There are times when I feel like I’m giving birth to this experience called, “moving to Mexico”. I’ve felt much less stressed this week. The house is prepped for selling and we have shown it several times. No one has backed a Brinks truck up to our door and unloaded the required bags of money (my vision). Today and every Sunday we are having an open house until it sells.

We are butterflies struggling out of the cocoon to spread our wings and fly. The struggle is itself part of the miraculous process that is required to throw off the cocoon and strengthen our wings for that migrational trip south. At times it is difficult to hang onto this enlightened perspective, the struggle is part of the process and something to be embraced with lessons of its own.