Lusy's full name, by the way, is Eva Lucia! (How 'bout that, Mom? It's all in the family!) So, today she has totally blessed me. I pray that I can do the same for her before the day is over ...
She was crying just awhile ago, when I walked into the kitchen. I first looked to see if she had just cut up onions ... no. It's uncommon in this culture to reveal emotions so I'm glad that she at least was comfortable enough to cry in the house. I'm sure she hadn't planned on having me walk in on her, though.
Bottom line ... her husband is a scumbag. He's got a girlfriend. Our conversation was difficult with the language barriers but it appears that she's put up with his shenanigans for a long time. He's her age -- 30. They've been married quite awhile, I think. No kids. She said that she understood his feelings but that he didn't think about her feelings. Yeah. I pantomimed punching him out and she laughed. Pray for her. She's such a sweetheart. And it's hard to know how much to reach out to her 'cuz the culture doesn't allow for a lot of hugging and heart-to-heart talks!
Now, onto the good stuff:
I think Lusy wants job security ... and she's certainly found it!!
Cilantro (coriander) has been tough to get in the markets but when I have found it, it's so much better than what we had in Nigeria (which was pale green and spindly!) I LOVE cilantro!!! (We used to grow it in Franktown, Colorado. It's the one thing the boys wouldn't pick when I sent them out to the garden for salad ingredients 'cuz they hated the smell on their hands. I, on the other hand, LOVE the smell of cilantro on my hands! My sis, Kathleen, even gave me a bottle of cilantro-scented soap one time!!! I ended up ordering a bunch more bottles after the first one was emptied.)
So, over the weekend I was thinking that I'd like to grow a bunch of herbs, especially cilantro.
When Lusy arrived this a.m. I asked her if there was a place to buy the plants for coriander, basil, ... so that I could grow them. She took me out to the side yard, through her side door ... and ... voila --- there is coriander growing in a pot!!! She said that when I last bought cilantro, she cut off some of it and planted it ... because she knew it was hard to find! It's already a healthy little plant!
Then, she showed me mint that's growing in the ground!!! I clapped for that 'cuz I like it in my iced tea. She giggled.
So, I'm going to buy a long pot and have Lusy plant a bunch of herbs.
I've given up trying to do these things myself. With Lusy and Soagi competing for who can best take care of Missus' plants, I've not got a chance of gardening!
In fact, when Soagi heard me talking with Lusy about the herbs he started watering my plants!
'feeling blessed. 'heavy-hearted for Lusy. 'ready to kill one particular guy I've never met!
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4 comments:
Okay, I grew cilantro from seed for the first time this year, and I don't know how Lusy rooted it. Maybe it came as a plant to use and she placed that in soil or water? I am confused and impressed with the gardening-savvy in your greater-household!
I find myself working with a lot of women these days and am unfortunately not surprised any more to hear stories of abuse of many kinds. Are there resources there to help Lusy survive and thrive without the two-timing louse - I mean, her husband?
Growing things here is shocking -- simply place the branch in the soil and it starts to grow! No rooting, no need to sprout anything! It's due to the high humidity. Very hard to believe until you see it! So she took a couple of the pieces from the bunch I bought for cooking, trimmed 'em up, planted 'em, and now we have a plant growing -- healthy and full! Crazy!
As to support and help -- nothing, really. As Jeri has seen in Thailand, unfaithfulness is very common (also the same in Nigeria) and pretty much expected. I suggested that Lusy talk with her mom but her mom lives on another island. And who knows what the mom will say ... probably "that's just the way it is!" As soon as we can find a church to get involved with, I'll find out more about what Christian groups are doing. In non-western countries, the men are KINGS and tyrants, treating "their women" worse than they treat children. But being common doesn't equal being easy to take ... grrrrrr! "My" Lucy in Port Harcourt had her boyfriend cheat on her -- she walked in on him in bed with a friend of theirs from church. I spent a lot of time with her on that ordeal. In the end, she married him. She figured that she knows his history -- which is better than if she married a diff. guy. Pain ... the norm for so many.
You clapping over finding mint reminds me of you kissing the grass in Portland in the spring, on a short trip from Alaska. :)
?? I can't remember that but it does sound like something I'd do! :-)
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