Seven years later... a special afternoon

Not long ago, I wrote a little about my trip to Honduras and the friendships that formed there, one of which being my friendship with Lucy.  Barely after arriving, she welcomed me into her world, her close-knit family, and her life.

At Lucy's house... Monica to the left of me, Lucy in front of me, baby Bryan on my lap...

The memory of three girls sobbing when we left (Lucy, my girl Monica, and me) is one that still plays quietly in my mind from time to time.  The hugs, not wanting to let go, anxiety of not knowing when we would see each other again... admittedly, it's a little much, but it's true.

As I mentioned before, being introduced to a place in which people did not have much, but shared the little they had, felt right.  I met people who lived the quote "we belong to each other."  After this, coming home to air conditioning, caramel macchiatos, and a mall that includes a gourmet dog treat stand felt a little off to me.  This is something I still struggle with, if I am honest, on an almost daily basis.

Years have passed, and many circumstances (college, my job, etc.) have prevented my return to beautiful Honduras.  This has been hard.  Really hard.  I am grateful to be able to see pictures through Facebook, but not knowing the answer to "Cuando vienes por aqui?" is rough.

Lucy is a teacher.  First grade, just like me.  She has created a classroom family, just like me.  She loves her students so much her heart hurts, just like me.  I watch all this, from my computer, and I know there's something about this girl.

So somehow over the weekend the stars aligned and I saw on Facebook that my friend was in the US and I was at my parents' for spring break.  So I got to visit her, in Trenton, of all places.  (Shout-out to another incredible woman, work friend family, and soul sista for driving me there, because I am many things, but brave enough to drive into Trenton is not one of them!)

We hugged.

We sat and talked about how much has changed, how far we've come.

We marveled at how big Bryan (the baby in my picture) has gotten.

We adored her little niece Gaby as she blew kisses in the car.

Lucy gave me a shirt from Honduras (pretty much literally off her back), which I am so excited to wear, with pride. :)

The baby is so big now!  I can't believe it!

I told myself I wouldn't cry when I left, but Lord knows that was not a realistic expectation!

My friend is happy.  She's healthy.  Her sobrinos are beautiful.  My heart aches to go back to Honduras, but for now I am grateful for our special afternoon.

To me, this is a miracle, it came from God, and I am so thankful for it.