Life is Good Even When It's Not
I’ve been trying to write lately, after all, that was the goal when we decided to retire, make Mexico our home base and travel. Writing was going to be our outlet and at the very least our hobby. Like so many, it is hard to be inspired to share your adventures when they are so limited. We have no reviews to write, although I suppose I could do one about the restaurants that are delivering. No new places to describe and rave about. What we do have is a new-found appreciation for all we have and how precious it is..
We have learned that even though we downsized and unloaded an unfathomable amount of stuff, we still have so much more than so, so many people. We have also learned a lot about other cultures living where we do and not being able to roam freely, but instead surviving in close proximity to people from different parts of the USA, Mexico, Canada, Eastern Europe, UK, and Italy. We have literally seen the good, the bad and the ugly (and I mean that in the southern way – poorly behaved) in others. Covid-19 has brought an enormous amount of stress to everyone, and not unlike grief, everyone handles it very differently.
When we moved to Mexico, we were so excited about embracing the Mexican culture, one we have loved for over 20 years. We were counting on it being loud, full of diversity, color, wonderful food, tropical weather AND, quite selfishly, kinder and more respectful to elders. A perfect place to make our home base as we age gracefully into our senior years. Some people may say we shouldn’t have picked an ex-pat community if that is what we wanted, and they would have a valid point. The one thing that I personally find most annoying about our new home is the attitude towards and by young kids. There is an elitist attitude, that the children come first in a way that they are allowed to sort of take over. Their needs, and behavior come before anyone else’s. Running in areas that are dangerous with no regard to their safety or other’s relaxation. Driving golf carts and scooters that they can barely control or maneuver on public streets. The feeling that rules don’t pertain to them, which will only backfire as they get older.
In the grand scheme of things if that is my only complaint, I’d say life is pretty damn good! Let’s focus on the good. Our new community is small in size but is very diverse, with tourists who love to visit here and part time residents from all over the world. It is unique, not to this part of the world, but to most places, in that it is affluent on this side of the highway but just across the way there are a huge number of residents, that vastly outnumber us, living and barely getting by pay day to pay day. Not only has this virus directly attacked their health, but it has dramatically impacted their ability to feed themselves. In addition, many will more than likely lose their electricity this month or next. Some have returned to their smaller villages in other parts of Mexico, but most have chosen to stay here in hopes the work will return soon.
The reality is that there is no form of unemployment insurance in Mexico. There are no 1200 dollar checks arriving, not even 1200 pesos! They are literally on the brink starvation and destitution. Sobering, I know, so how can I consider this the good? Good question! What I have witnessed, and gladly assisted in some small way, is the generosity of people. We have some Facebook groups that are a mighty source of information, like modern day drums, calling out the daily needs of the community. And watching the response to these calls to action has been truly inspiring.
There are a number of organizations and small grassroots groups (see more information) who are collecting food, donations, personal hygiene items and cleaning supplies. Others are doing the shopping, especially for the most vulnerable, wary to being too close to strangers. Others are delivering the much-needed supplies in the form of “dispensas” (care packages) and store gift cards. Just the other day a question was asked on our Facebook coconut-telegram system: if the people can’t feed themselves what will happen to their pets? Anyone who traveled here many years ago remembers how large the stray animal population was and how long it took to reduce it. Next thing we know, there are people arranging to get pet food to the people in need.
I saw a friend of ours in Charleston post about an auction he was running to help support his staff financially. I wondered if we could do a similar thing here, so I threw it out there and it took on a life of its own. Happy to say we raised almost $8,000 US Dollars to help small businesses and their employees. That was a true blessing to witness and be apart of. People donated all kinds of things and even more people participated in the auction, driving up the bids and helping to make it a huge success.
I read that so many people are going stir crazy. We are not yet, thanks in part to all the efforts and ways there are to help firsthand here. I am also extremely grateful for my love of cooking. Anyone who knows me, knows my stress outlet is cooking. Matt’s (my stepson) house burned down when he was in college he and his roommates ended up at our house. I cooked. Someone is moving away, I get sad, I throw a party and I cook. Others are boarding up for a hurricane. I cook. You get the picture. I questioned whether or not I would need my 8-gallon Dutch oven in the tropics, but for sentimental reason I dragged it here. Let’s just say it has been used more in the last several months than in any other time. And I am happily sharing the food with friends whenever I can. What I have learned is everyone has something they can do to step up and help. If you aren’t creative, that’s OK get involved locally and see what you can do to support other’s plans.
To sum it up, we are surviving this pandemic, grateful we have places to walk, swim and kayak to keep us active. Completely pleased and proud of our new community and home. Busy beyond belief trying to do what we can to support those doing more and helping where we can. And yes, cooking! Life is good even when it’s not…