The weather is warming, the flowers are blooming, and I am perplexed why I thought I would not be able to see the seasons changing in the desert. When I came to Tucson in late August I felt quite disoriented, like I was in a realm outside of time. I was convinced it was the beginning of summer and that it would feel like summer forever. But as the air cooled and the monsoon rain turned into winter drizzles, I settled into the patterns of the Sonoran desert. I feel like child experiencing these seasons for the first time. I am awed by the little things.
The budding of the ocotillos after looking at their barren spiking stalks for months caught me by surprise.
And when I see little dots of color across the landscape from the blossoming flowers I can't help but run over to take a picture.
Casa Alitas is also going through a time of transition right now. We are moving into a new building, big and spacious to accommodate much more people. While staff plan, move inventory, and set up the space, we continue to welcome 200-400 people a day at our current welcome center. It is no small feat to be stretched thin and tensions are high as we try to continue to serve our guests well while planning for the future. We will begin receiving people at the new space next week and I am anxious to see how it goes.
I often write down little moments from my day that made me smile or laugh. When I try to write about them though I usually end up erasing my work because they are not much of stories, just an exchange between people that is hard to explain out of context. But with that disclaimer I thought I would share some of these bullet point stories from my week...
A coworker and I were talking to a chatty 6 year old girl. She wanted to know our names and after each she responded, "que bonita nombre."
I asked a man to please wear his mask and he responded "apple [and some indistinguishable Hindi words]" apple in hand. I just laughed.
I was handing out some rice crispy treats to a group of men who had been waiting for transportation to the isolation hotel. The men in the front asked what kind of food it was. After a few exchanges we decided the best name was "arroz tostada." When the men in the back asked me what food I was giving them, I very confidently answered "arroz tostada!" The men in the front heard me and congratulated me on my new vocabulary.
I feel the same about my little moments. I want to memorize them, so I can share them with others or remember them later, but then I realize that nobody will really understand them, or I’ll forget the context. So I think, maybe they’re just for me to enjoy in the moment. My storytelling wouldn’t be able to do them justice anyway.
That being said, here’s my favorite of recently: A little boy stopper me in the hallway for a hug, and then he looked up at me and said, “Mr. Luke, you’re getting so big.”
Thanks for your blogs! I look forward to each new one.
Surprising pictures! Something we experienced in 1982-83 in South Texas and when we traveled into Mexico. You have sensitivity and interesting perspective. “Spring” is here, everywhere.