Laundry & Life
Small moments making a big impact
st. Mark village
Our first day in country opened the eyes of my heart, mind, and soul. We were greeted by the smiling, excited faces of homeowners in a rural village in the parish of St. Mark's after a two hour bus ride from our hotel. The picture to the right depicts a quiet conversation I had with myself as I was sitting on the precarious front porch of a house resting on stilts off the side of a mountain. The cool mountain breeze contrasting the Caribbean sun as I peered up at the clothesline. It was a simple but profound moment.
Grenadians don't have clothes dryers. Clothes dryers, a common component of American households, were practically unheard of in this rural village. The baby clothes rustled on the line in the wind. The porch was peaceful but these peoples stories were bold. The clothes were just an ordinary part of their life and taking care of their family. It was wholeness. unity. family. To me, this was special. To them, this was just... life.
So much of my day at home is spent running to and from class, errands, events, and meetings. Busy, busy, busy. Never a moment to just stop and catch the wind. But here, in this place, they had all the wind in the world.
My culture, my way of life, and my busyness was distracted for a moment. These precious baby clothes blew in the wind, and maybe I can find more time for simple things, for family, for people, for laundry.
Belmont Estate
Day 2
Today we were able to visit the Belmont Estate Plantation and enjoy a colorful lunch on the veranda overlooking the plantation. On my plate was a lush variety of traditional Grenadian cuisine. For dessert, we enjoyed "cocoa tea" which is synonymous to our version of hot cocoa. After our lunch, we were able to peer into the process of how chocolate is made from cocoa beans.