Day 24: Bonds

Bathing day today. And I knew it long before I got there. That shows me how comfortable I have gotten with working at Mother Teresa’s. Well... comfortable is the wrong word. I could only be truly comfortable with the type of work that I do, with the disabilities I encounter everyday, if I completely block it out or just go with the motions. I could be comfortable if I didn’t think about it, make believe it wasn’t real. But that’s not me. I am trying to take in every second of time that I have at the Home, because my time here is very quickly coming to an end. After today’s volunteer hours, I only have three days left at Mother Teresa’s. I thoroughly enjoy learning everything that I can while here, from the children’s disabilities to their personalities, and from the Spanish language to the Peruvian culture. I have thrown myself into this experience, and it has certainly been one of the most rewarding endeavors of my life. So, no, I am not exactly comfortable. But I enjoy working at the Home so much that I can’t imagine that I will be going back to life as normal in just a week’s time. It will be nice to be home, to see my family and friends, my dogs, and my colleagues, but it hasn’t quite sunk in yet, especially when compared to the amount of help that is needed here.

I guess the best way to explain my “comfort” at the Home is to say that I have gotten accustomed to my surroundings. As I said, it was bathing day today, and I knew it way ahead of time. I have completely memorized the schedule at the Home, and I know where I am needed most, what I should be doing at specific times. As soon as I get there in the morning on Tuesdays and Fridays (there is a different schedule almost everyday), I help bath and dress the kids. That takes about an hour and a half. At 10 AM, I help transfer food from the downstairs kitchen and prepare the kids’ plates for lunch. At 10:30, it's lunchtime, and I help to feed the kids. Depending on which child I feed, I may or may not walk away with spit up food on my smock and pants (but it's all in the nature of the business and I love it; no hard feelings). After lunch, I help put the kids in bed for nap time. If there are a few extra minutes in between tasks, I talk to and play with the kids. And then it is time to leave because the van is outside to bring us back to the volunteer home base. Luckily, I have come to the point where I feel like I have accomplished something by the time I leave everyday at noon.

But through it all, I haven’t figured everything out. There are dynamics within Mother Teresa’s Home that would probably take years to sort out. For example, the children never cease to amaze and surprise me. A good number of them are unresponsive, a byproduct of the mental disabilities that they have. Others are able to communicate with simple hand gestures or noises. One thing that I hadn’t noticed, until today, is that a few of the kids have dynamics with each other. In their simple ways, they are able to communicate and show a sense of camaraderie that is not visible until you look closely.

Today, as I was walking down the hallway, towards the main room where the children congregate, I heard one of the residents crying. I recognized the voice right away as that of Carlos (who is often called Carlitos, a more loving form, by the staff). I quickened my pace to try to see what was going on. And as I stepped into the room, the crying stopped. Hector, a boy in the wheelchair next to Carlitos, had his hand on Carlitos’ face. He was gently rubbing Carlitos’ face, trying to soothe him. I’m not sure how deep the interaction between them was or has been in the past. Maybe Hector’s hand was in the right place at the right time (he doesn’t exactly know how to keep his hands to himself). But I doubt that. The vast majority of these children, whether they know it or not, spend every second of every day with each other. They are bound to be connected more than just by physical proximity. And even though the nuns are only able to provide the basic necessities and life could be better, they are family. That has to count for something.

So, yes, my time here is ending very soon. However, I have formed bonds and relationships, with the kids, nuns, and staff. I have grown close to them, and they have changed my life forever. I certainly consider them a part of my family. And I hope to keep that consideration for a long time coming.