Two months of blogging! :)

Today marks two months since I began this blog.  Two months already?  I can't believe this much time has gone by and yet there are many things I have not touched on.

This is also one of my nephew's birthday.  My cousin Patty's middle son, Sergio, is 27 years old and THAT is unreal to me since the last time I saw him, he was just 11.  Ugh, how time flies.  He is now married and has a little girl of his own and his wife already had a daughter, so he is a father of two beautiful girls.  His younger brother turned 21 earlier this month (yeah, that makes me feel old!) so I've been missing my family like crazy lately.

If I were to ask my parents to send me to Bolivia at any time, they would do so without hesitation and take care of my three girls with as much love and care as possible.  But this is something I cannot do.  With my cats getting older and two of them on twice daily medications, leaving them for any significant amount of time is not an option I allow myself to have because they come first in my life.  I do not feel as if I am sacrificing my own happiness for them as they are my children, even if they are feline.  My biggest joy is seeing their little faces each day when I wake and hearing their sweet voices meowing and purring as I speak their names.  They are my world as much as I am theirs.

Substitute your kitties for "another person" and that's me!

Ahh, but when I see photographs of my nephew with his lovely family, I can't help but wish I could be there with my family to share in the closeness I once shared with all of them.  My cousin and her husband Pepe have three sons, Andres, Sergio and Oscar and I became very close to all of them during two vacations I spent in Cochabamba.  I stayed with their family for at least one month each time and they are the people I miss most of all.  The incredible love and understanding of this family is something everyone should experience at least once in their lives.  At that time, Pepe was a Jehovah's Witness while I was Agnostic and even so, he enjoyed my company very much.  While he was part of that belief system, many could not tolerate him for too long yet he and I had mutual respect for one another and didn't encounter any problems.  He even slipped one of his books explaining the path to salvation in my carry on bag the day I left without my knowing it.  This gave me a good laugh and cry when I saw it.

Oscar, Andres, Sergio and me.. 1996

Pepe, Valeria (Sergio's wife), Camila, Sergio, Estefania, Andres, Gabriel (Oscar's son), Oscar and Patty.. 2012

When I see how the family has grown, it makes me tear up but it also puts a huge smile on my face.  My "boys" are all doing well in life and remain close to their parents and to one another.  They never forget me and as long as life treats them well, what else could I want for them?

I long to hear their voices and spend time with my family and to get to know the newest members but I know this will not happen for many, many years.  And by the time my little girls are long gone, my health will probably not allow me to travel and I have made my peace with this.  I couldn't travel right now, even if I wanted to.. this much I know.  I guess being aware of my limitations helps my stress levels stay put much easier.