The Best Birthday Present Ever!! EVER!!!

 

Do you ever tell someone that? “This is the best cup of coffee ever” or “This was the best vacation ever” or “This is the best school ever” or “My mom is the best mom ever in the entire wide, whole world” (And the list goes on and on…)

I do it all the time, over and over, because I feel it that way in my heart. Because I am so grateful when I receive great things, I feel nothing would top that, and then I am always surprisingly happy to be experiencing more great things are giving to me that exceeded what I had previously received.

It is not that I am comparing things for their size or value, when I received them, any time in my life, and it is not that I placed more value on the new things given to me, versus on the old ones. It is the fact that I am so blessed to receive great, amazing, wonderful things, at the right and precise time I need them in my life. As God and the universe, both know that is precisely what I need at that time, and I do not take anything given to me for granted, I never had, and I always want to make sure people know how grateful and thankful I am to receive their gifts.

I was about 16 years old and living in Panama at that time. We had a local high school, however, I wanted to attend middle school in one of the best high schools of a city that was about 3 hours from where we lived, and to do that, my mom arranged for me to stay with some friends of hers during the school week, and in exchange, I would help them with all the household chores.

I went to live with that family, and I stayed there for about a year or so. I would complete all the needed chores in the morning, and I would go to school in the afternoon. While there I met one of the mechanics that worked for the family, at the car shop next to the house.

I think he was in his late 30’s, or 40’s, and he looked extremely skinny, had a lot of wrinkles, very tanned and burned skin, and always had this “worrisome” look on his face. He worked hard, and he was always moving around fast and getting things done at the repair shop. He was always covered in sweat and the white cotton shirts he always wore were soaking wet.

Part of my chores included making a lot of “chichas” which consisted of mixing very cold water with any tropical fruits in season and adding sugar cane or molasses to the drinks and more ice, and have them ready in the refrigerator, so when the men at the car shop wanted to drink something, they would just come to the kitchen and help themselves.

After I noticed this guy, which I completely forgot his name today, I also noticed he was very shy and other than using the restroom, he just drank water from the faucet outside the house, which was cold, however, he never came inside to partake of the “chichas” and the only time he would stop working, was for about 30 minutes, to get lunch and eat it by the repair shop.

I was moving around the house and inside and occasionally the porch, which was near the shop, however, the house was very cold inside, as it was surrounded by large mango and avocado trees, compared to the shop, which had a roof made of very thin aluminum sheets, with very little shade and it was and open space where the extreme humid and outside heat would come in.

I would sweat a lot and it was very uncomfortable at times, however, I would come inside the house and could drink the “chicha” or I could just simply seat in the couch or even better, seat on the porch hammock and just let the nice breeze cool me down, so I could not understand how that man didn’t “want” to drink the chichas. (At the time I thought he just didn’t link them)

And then one day I found out the man was the stepson of the man of the house, the owner of the car shop, and that explained a lot of things and opened my eyes on the dynamics of the stepdad-son relationship and what was going on and I was able to discover a lot of other no pleasant things, later on, about the family. (Another blog entry)

And from that day on, I knew that as long as I was living in that house, that man would enjoy my “chichas” not only one time, but 2 or 3 or as many times as he needed them. I also made sure his plate portion was big and I made sure I always offered him “seconds.”

Every time he would come inside the house to use the bathroom, I would offer him a “beer” size mug of “chicha” which he drank in one gulp, and if there was any leftover food at the end of the day, I would prepare it so he could take it to his wife and children.

I was in charge of cooking too, so I would cook enough food for everybody, and I made sure nothing would go to waste. And when the person in charge of doing the grocery shopping would ask me what was needed, I made sure the grocery list included all bodies living in the house and the man that worked at the shop.

This man started to open up slowly, and even smiled at me and more often he was so grateful!! And that made me so happy, knowing that my actions made a difference at that moment.

After several months he told me his family wanted to meet me and they wanted to do something nice for me, so we arranged for me to travel to their very small, remote village town one day.

I invited a friend from school, and I remembered getting up very early one Saturday morning, taking a taxi and then meeting my friend and taking a bus and then, a few hours later, being dropped by a dirt road where some small, elementary age, school children waited for me.

Those children were so nice, and they seemed very happy when they saw me, and their eyes lit up. I immediately held hands with them, naturally and as if we always had, as they were walking me towards their home.
And then I saw the man and his wife waiting at the door for me, with very wide smiles and the wife hugged me and thanked me so much for being nice to her husband and for sending food with him almost every day, because some days, they didn’t have enough food to feed the children the next day.

My friend and I spent all day long with them in a beautiful place surrounded by nature and beautiful flowers and fruit trees. We played with cats and dogs as well as with the children.

The family prepared a very nice lunch for us, including home-made traditional dishes and some of my favorite dishes I have told the man I liked. We then exchanged some gifts, a few things I had brought for the children and the wife, and the family gave me some vegetables and fruits of the region.

And as the sunset started to appear on the horizon, we said goodbye and started to walk back to the main road to take the bus. And in the ride back home I felt happy, energized and I felt that whole day was very meaningful for me when I was fulfilling a purpose and that made me very happy.

And I can tell you right now, that was the best lunch ever and now you can understand why. And now you will understand why I just received the best birthday present ever, just a few days ago.

It started very early on the day of my birthday, with a phone call and an invitation to an 8-hour, motivational event with “some” motivational speakers.

I didn’t think twice, and I was very excited about it. Fast forward to hour 8th of the event. I was glued to my seat literally for those 8 hours. I heard inspirational messages from some of the best mentors now in the USA, 25 of them including Ed Mylett, Lewis Howes, Andy Elliot, and many more!! I cried, I smiled, I laughed, I pondered. I cheered, I applauded, I hugged, I was hugged, I shook hands, I was motivated. I learned. I shared. I grew. I wrote notes, many notes.

My body, mind and soul kept engaged for those 8 straight hours. There was never a dull moment and the energy I felt is one I cannot explain easily but is the energy I needed at that precise moment and the energy that keeps me going day after day. I felt very happy and fulfilled, at home, and in my element.

This is the best birthday present EVER!! There was so much knowledge shared and so much vulnerability and so much power. The best and most productive straight 8 hours of my life.

And for the person that gave this gift to me, Kyle, this “PRESENT” I hope you know how much this meant and means to me. I hope you know you have giving me the greatest gift, and especially when you gave it to me on my birthday, it is a reason for me to believe, that “I was born again” on this birthday, or at least a part of me was and that I had a chance to start a brand a new life, and for that I am immensely grateful because somewhat, you knew exactly what I needed, at the precise time and that is powerful. (Intentionally or unintentionally) :)

And off I go to start a new day, every day with more purpose, with more enthusiasm and always remembering what is important, to be grateful, and so I am for so many wonderful gifts in life.

And I hope you all have a very happy, wonderful and productive day!!


-La Niña Internacional-