Life without Lily

It was on December the 10^th that Lily was providing some entertainment for us while we were eating supper, as she often did. (Yes, we had come to enjoy her antics, some of the time.) On this particular day she raced in and out of the room, jumped in and out of the basket on the bookshelf, and tried to climb up the curtains. After this burst of energy she meowed at the door to be let out. Getting out through the skylight was proving to be more difficult since the landlord put a tarp over it to keep the rain out. Although she could still do it, when we were home, she preferred to go out through the door. Dave let her out, and we’re sad to say, that was the last time we saw her.

She almost always returned about the time we were going to bed. This time we thought it a bit strange that we hadn’t heard the familiar meow at the door but didn’t think too much of it. The next morning she still wasn’t there. When she wasn’t there when we returned from school that day, we were starting to fear the worst, although we didn’t give up hope. After several days, however, we were quite certain she wasn’t coming back. After a couple of weeks, we washed her blanket and packed up her stuff. It seemed so final.

As much as we complained about her disagreeable personality, we had come to an understanding. When I petted her as she sat on my lap I just expected that after a few minutes she would try to bite me. Dave came to expect a swat on the leg when she walked past. She even seemed to have learned the word, “NO!”, or maybe it was the fact that we were always coming after her when we said it. But either way, she left the kitchen in a hurry when we yelled at her.

So now, we are once again without a pet. Dave is sleeping much better at night, not having to worry about Lily crashing in or out through the skylight, or meowing at the door to be let in or out. I can sit down to drink my coffee in the morning. We don’t have to worry about getting fleas. We don’t have to clean out the litter box. We can leave the kitchen and bedroom doors open. (It was always a bit of a guessing game trying to find each other with all the doors closed.)

So do we miss her? Yes, actually we do. But only if we spot any rodents will we be tempted to get another cat. 

Christmas in Ecuador

For the first time ever, we were away from all of our kids for Christmas, a time of year that is traditionally spent with family. Although we missed them, and longed to be there (even more so after Charlotte was born), we were really blessed this Christmas.

On December 23^rd we celebrated with our SIM “family”. The whole team got together at the home of one of the missionary families. We enjoyed an evening of good food, games, singing and a gift exchange. Even though we have only been here a short time, we have been accepted and made to feel that we are part of the team.

On Christmas Eve our church had a candlelight service, very similar to services at home. We listened to the familiar scripture passages being read in Spanish and we sang familiar Christmas songs in Spanish. The language was different but the message was the same – we celebrate and rejoice because of the birth of Jesus Christ, our Saviour. At the end of the service the pastor talked about us and told everyone that we were away from our family in Canada and that we had a new grandchild. Then he said to us, in English, that they loved us and were glad we were here and glad that our grandchild was well. When it was over, I think almost every person there came and hugged us.

In Ecuador, Christmas Eve is the important day when families celebrate together. Gifts do not seem to be the focus but rather the food and fellowship. We were very honoured to be invited to an Ecuadorian family celebration on Christmas Eve. The woman who invited us goes to our church and has lived in the United States. She said she knows what it’s like to be away from home at Christmas so she asked if we would like to join her family. We arrived at her sister’s place around 9 p.m. Other family members began arriving and there were soon close to 30 people there. Everyone greeted us in the traditional Ecuadorian way, with a kiss on the cheek, as if we were part of the family. Anyone who could speak a bit of English made a great effort to talk to us. Around 11 we sat down for the turkey dinner. When the host proposed a toast before the meal (in Spanish), he was talking about the importance of the occasion and celebrating it with family. Then he looked at us and someone supplied him with the English word “friends”. We so appreciated their kindness in welcoming us into their family.

Christmas Day we were invited to the home of one of the missionaries. They said they didn’t want anyone sitting at home alone on Christmas Day so there were 10 of us altogether. We had a great meal, visited and played a couple of games. Then we were all anxious to get home to Skype with our families. We were fortunate that our internet was working and we were able to talk to the kids later in the day. Not the same as being there, but better than nothing!

New Year’s Eve is probably the biggest celebration of the year in Ecuador. It is more than just welcoming the new year. They have a tradition in which they make life size figures, called Ano Viejo, meaning Old Year. In Loja these figures appeared to be made out of paper mache or some type of hard material and had elaborately painted clothes and faces. We were in Cuenca for a few days between Christmas and New Year’s and there they were stuffed with sawdust or newspaper and were wearing clothes. They were for sale on every street corner. On New Year’s Eve the people light fires in the streets and at midnight throw their “Ano Viejo” into the fire, symbolically getting rid of all the negative things from the year just ending. Then everyone jumps over the fire three times for good luck.

We didn’t venture out on the streets that night, but we watched the goings on from our rooftop. We had a great view of several fires on our street. Following the burning of the Ano Viejo there was an incredible fireworks display. Here anyone and everyone buys fireworks to set off at midnight (with little thought to safety it seems). From our roof we can see all across the city and there were fireworks going off everywhere! We didn’t know which way to turn; they were all around us. It was amazing!

So, we have celebrated Christmas and said good-bye to 2012 in a new culture. Although it was difficult to be away from our family during this time, our lives have been enriched through our experiences here.