20 days in? No way.

It's probably not long enough to call myself Honduran, but I do it anyways. Today marks the half way point of this journey and it truly is unbelievable for a few reasons. Depending on the hour, if you asked me how long it felt like we've been here, I'd either say 2 days or 2 years. Our first few days here (or first two weeks respectively) were spent getting acclimated to a life that was everything, and nothing, like what we anticipated. We had a lot of ups and our fair share of downs but we've come out 20 days strong & happy.

 I still say, at least every other day if not every day, I'm living in a dream...because I really do feel like that's what this is. Not everything has gone how I predicted it would go and not everything has been perfect. We've had some just plain hard, emotionally exhausting days. But this is still the place that our hearts long for when we're away. This is still the place where everything is so simple. Simple doesn't mean easy, just, simple. It's not everyday that I get to wake up and go to a house where little arms always reach up to wrap around my neck. Or a little one just constantly wants to snuggle in my lap. Do my arms get tired from playing and fall asleep from holding their little bodies in place while they watch tv or drift off to sleep (once), yes. And that's exactly how I prefer my days go. I've been called Honduran, Jorge's daughter, Carolina's aunt, Josella's mom, animals, wrestlers, famous people (okay I just wish for that one, that hasn't happened yet) and everything in between. I've been called some not so nice names too. I've been teased & picked on for saying things wrong or doing things wrong. Do I love that? I mean, no, it's not my favorite. In the moment I want to say something back,but luckily for me, my Spanish is awful. But kids are kids. It doesn't matter where you pick up and travel to, a twelve year old will act like a twelve year old and an eight year old will act like an eight year old. There will be hugs, kicks, tickles, names and everything in between. So yes, some days I want to walk away from every naggy, rude child and find a corner to just sit in by myself. And some days I do just that. But most days there are just a lot of hugs, kisses, tickles and giggles. Those days are what make it seems like we've been here for only 2 days.

Last night Allison and I were discussing how today is the half way mark and she said "how can we make it slow down?" If anyone knows how we can slow time down, please let us know as soon as possible. But for right now, we're doing our best to indulge in every moment.

xoxotracylynn