week 32: baseball and family (january 19-25)

baseball, baseball and some more baseball: i don't know why, but baseball was the story of the week here at nph. we have a really nice baseball field that was built for the kids by the boston red sox over the summer, but since it's on the other side of our property, i guess sometimes it's too far to walk... so the kids have been creating this new field in this open grass area we have between their houses and our volunteer house. so, every afternoon after school this week, we played ball. the kids love it and practically have to be pulled off the field every night by the tías to go home and shower and eat dinner. and on wednesday, the kids didn't have school because of the national holiday (feast day of our lady of altagracia), so we played for the whole entire morning and afternoon. it was just a good solid 4 or 5 hours... i was so sunburned and hot and thirsty and i think that if we wouldn't have lost our last ball in the bushes, we would have played until the sun went down!

family day, take 3: this sunday we also had another visitor's day, where the kid's relatives can come and visit for the day (i can't believe it's been 3 months since the last one!) it was a pretty relaxed day, mostly spent outside playing basketball or soccer and visiting with various moms, dads, grandparents, aunts/uncles and cousins that came to visit. it's always a day of mixed emotions... for both the kids that have family and those that don't. one of our newer boys luis, had a particularly hard day... i think he's only been here for about 2 months, so this would have been his first visitors day. he's a sweet kid, a quiet kid, but really, really smart. he lives in the house for new boys with his adorable younger brother. i think they are about 11 and 6 and they are just really great boys. they are always respectful, very friendly and really don't cause too much trouble at all (which is unusual, because usually the new kids have the toughest time). anyway, sunday afternoon, after all the visitors had left, i saw luis sitting all alone by the kitchen with his head drooped over on his knees. i went over and sat with him and he told me he was fine, but i could tell he was crying. so, i asked him a little about the day. he told me that his dad and grandmother came and he was just really sad that they had left. i told him that i was sure that they loved him very much and that it's really good that they came to visit and that he would get to see them again in 3 months... but i'm sure all of that really means nothing when you're 11 and living in a new place, trying to look out for your younger brother (which he's really good at) and all you really want to do is go home and be with your family. it's so sad because he's just such a sweet kid and your heart just breaks for him and you wonder why life can be so unfair sometimes. i guess the most we can do is love him and care for him and try and help him see that he can have a family here at nph too.


"the world breaks everyone and afterward many are stronger at the broken places." - ernest hemingway