O Christmas; Tree

A very special event took place for us this week. When Lily got sick, we had been in Argentina just over two months and were still getting situated, trying to meet new people and getting comfortable in our new surroundings. The community welcomed us with open arms. During the time at the hospital, the community rallied around us to help us through this most difficult time by taking our kids, providing us meals, running errands for us, and generally being there for us in our time of need. When Lily passed, we upped and left as soon as we could to get back to the States and some familiarity, leaving all those who grieved with us in Argentina behind. Some of our close friends had told us that the circumstances made it hard as they were unable to have a final opportunity (like a funeral) for closure.

In working with the community, we came up with two separate memorials for Lily. The Embassy approved the planting of a Magnolia Liliflora tree on the compound accompanied by a plaque, and the school agreed to put a bench accompanied by a plaque in Lily's memory. The bench has yet to be placed (we checked today), but we had the tree-planting ceremony earlier this week. There were more than 100 employees, friends, and family members that came to support us. The tree is in a prominent place on the grounds allowing me (and everyone who wants to see it) coming and going every day with no effort. I had a chance to thank the community and our friends for all of the continued love and support. We then put some dirt around the roots of the tree and watered it. Then, just like the funeral, one by one people came to give us hugs of love and support. It was a very special event for us. At the end, Claire sang "Families Can Be Together Forever" in front of the whole crowd. She just walked right up, took the microphone, and belted it out. What a sweet sweet girl. I'll post a photo when it becomes available.

While the service was short, I had dressed up (in a suit) and was sweating profusely in the 85 degree, super humid weather. It has made it so hard to get into the Christmas spirit. Our house has been gussied up by Candace, but it is only an oasis. There are few Christmas lights and decorations around town, and we have begun to see the firework stands (for Christmas Eve) popping up around our house.

Other big news is that we just found out that a TGIF restaurant is going to be built right next store to a restaurant called Kansas. The Kansas is a popular place since it opens for dinner before 8pm. I'm not sure when the TGIF is going up, or if we'll ever go there (we've never been to Kansas), but it will be one more touch of the States. The main drag by our house has a McDonalds and a Burger King to keep the TGIF company.

Going out to dinner takes special planning due to the lateness of the normal dinner hour here. The ward party was on Friday night and it was scheduled to BEGIN at 7:30. While not terribly late, especially if it was an adults only dinner, it's getting late for folks with young kids. As we discussed the possibility of going to the party, we heard from families who were here last year that we should not be deceived by the "early" beginning hour, and that it only starts that early to accommodate the international families in the ward. We determined that it was just too late for our crew and passed, and only found out the next day that it was a good decision.

Ward Christmas parties are for kids and Santa. I should note that this is certainly not a complaint about our ward, just an observation about the cultural differences. As it turns out, while the start time was 7:30, the opening prayer was said at 9:00 and dinner was served around 10 pm. Some friends of ours left at 10:30 pm before dessert and before Santa. Santa arrived (must have taken forever to get to the southern hemisphere) around 11:45 pm, and the party ended about 12:15 am or so. Wow. Wow. Wow. Not so sure if we're just being Grinch-ish, or Grinches, but I wouldn't touch that late of a party with a 39 1/2 foot pole.

We hope Santa doesn't hold it against us and that Santa's helpers (i.e. USPS, Amazon, DPO) keep on working hard until Friday so that we can have a great holiday.

We wish everybody a very Merry Christmas and a very Happy Holiday season this coming week.