35 – the new 25 (or at least the new 33)

Yep, I turned 35 this week (Monday). Still just a kid. Lindsey gave me a great present in the morning by letting me sleep in as long as I wanted, while she took care of Shelby. While I was in dreamland, they decorated one of the big walls in our apt., so it would be festive when I finally woke up. I rolled out of bed a little after 10, which, if you know me, is still relatively early, but, I had an important birthday task to accomplish–get to McDonald’s before they quit serving breakfast. One thing I really wanted to do for my special day, was go through the drive-thru and get breakfast for all of us and bring it home and eat it in the semi-comfort of our own apartment.

So, at 10:15, finally feeling kind-of awake, and realizing I only had 15 minutes before they start serving lunch, I quickly threw on a cap and running shoes and bolted out of the house (after unlocking and re-locking several locks, of course). As I was running the 5 blocks to the main road where we catch taxis, I prayed and said “God, I know this is not a huge deal, but it’s my birthday, and I really need a taxi to get to McDonald’s cause I am seriously craving the deluxe breakfast combo!”. And just then, literally like 3 seconds after that, a nice, shiny, new, empty taxi pulled up slowly beside me on the street, and I thought, “you’ve gotta be kidding me, this is amazing!”. So I flagged him down, and he, much to my disappointment, gave me the index-finger-wag, meaning, he couldn’t stop for me up b/c he was already going to someone’s house to pick them up. So, I kept on running. When I got to the main street, I waited a few minutes and then saw another new, fancy taxi coming my way, but, as he flew by me I saw he already had a passenger. As the time ticked dangerously closer to the 10:30 breakfast cut-off mark, I was growing more and more impatient. Over the next couple of minutes, 4 more taxis, all nice and new (old beat-up taxi’s will get the job done, but they are usually more dirty and sometimes smell like exhaust and are not as comfortable) passed me, and all were full of people. I was getting desperate and considered just running to McDonalds, which was probably less than a mile away, but then considered my out-of-shape-ness and the fact that I was half-way to 70 yrs-old, and realized a deluxe breakfast was not worth dying for, so decided my best bet was to just hope for a taxi. I soon spotted 2 more of them coming down the road, and I held my hand out to flag them down, and my heart jumped as the first one flashed his lights and slowed down to pick me up. As excited as I was, I was kind-of disappointed that, after like 5 new cars, this taxi was an old, run-down, piece-of-junk. But I was in no situation to be picky. So I quickly jumped in and explained my emergency to the driver. The driver’s appearance kind-of matched the car. He was a rough looking guy, muscular and unshaven, but seemed to be a little sympathetic to my desperate situation. We arrived at the drive-thru and it was such a relief to see the breakfast menu still on the screen. I ordered my deluxe combo, and ordered a McPinto combo for Lindsey (the traditional costa rican rice & beans dish, called “gallo pinto” with eggs and a drink), and, b/c it was my birthday and I was in a good mood, I offered to buy the driver a coffee. I was sure he would get a regular coffee, black, maybe extra strong (b/c that’s what tough guys get, in my mind), but, he ordered a cappucino and asked for cinnamon on the foam. haha! As we pulled up to the window and waited for our food I asked him about his family and stuff. Just like I was surprised at his drink order, I was surprised at his story. He told me he was a Christian and that he had a wife and 3 daughters (it is always a relief, to me, when I hear that guys have a wife, b/c divorce is very, very common here). He went on to say that his oldest daughter, who is 20, is mentally handicapped (which may explain why he can’t afford a nicer taxi–they have had to care for their daughter). She is developmentally like an 8-yr. old. I was thinking about how to respond to this information and learn more about this guy and his story, and the only thing that came out of my mouth (b/c this is all in Spanish and a little challenging) is that it must be difficult raising a handicapped child. And he looked at me and said, “Oh yes, very difficult. But very beautiful”. And then, in the brief minutes before our food came, we talked about how he and his wife have learned so much about the grace and love of God, as they have taken care of their daughter. And how, in some ways, we are all like his daughter in that we are all broken and in need of healing, and without the care of God, we will never be free to live the abundant life we were created for. Although the conversation was just a few minutes, it was deeply encouraging and touching. As we were driving back to our house, I was so thankful that the 5 fancy taxis that I really wanted, had passed me up, so I could take the old, dented one. I had no idea that on the inside of this messed up, ugly car, would be a loving husband/father, and a story of grace and sacrifice that was more beautiful than any shiny, new taxi could ever be.

When I got back home, we enjoyed our breakfast and then I opened my presents. Lindsey got me a bunch of unique, handmade, stuff, all of which had maps on them, which I love. One of the gifts was a cool t-shirt (called the “3 Green’s Globe” shirt) from a small company in Washington, called “slow shirts” that do all of their t-shirt artwork by hand, without any computers. You can see this t-shirt and their store at:
slowshirts.etsy.com

In the evening, we had small party in our apartment with Kattia (our language helper), Fernando (Kattia’s brother, who is a good friend of ours), and our maid, Roxana. It was a lot of fun and Lindsey whipped up some great food, like jalapeno / cream cheese / bacon appetizers, pizza, and carrot cake. This was the 2nd time I’ve celebrated my b-day outside the United States, but it was the first time my party has been all in Spanish (which felt like a big accomplishment). Thankfully, though, I also received a lot of calls and emails in English.

Although not wanting to admit I am out of the low-30s, it was a really good day. Thanks everyone!