beach, dog shadow, and sorbet

Blog Jan. 30, 2008
We dropped off our friends, Alfonso and Liz, at the bus today to return home. It was so very nice to get to see them and hang for a few days with them. It was mostly beach time. Liz came with her objectives very clear cut... her skin had to darken through a great relaxation at the beach and slathering of oils and gels to bring the sun more in touch with her skin. She succeeded and is now recovering but happy. Alfonso joined her in this goal. And he achieved it as well. We also went to a couple ruins...the ones in Coba and the ones in Tulum. Johari loves the beach so it was perfect for her as well. She can play in the sand contentedly much of the time or she requests "water" time. In which case we go play in the surf. She runs in and out of the water. Windsurfers landed on the beach a few times. The 'kites' or sails that were pulling them along became Johari's play tent when they landed on the beach. We stayed the night in Tulum last night so we could hang out a bit more.
This afternoon just before she went down for her nap, Grandpa, Granny Em and I taught Johari "Ring Around the Rosie". She loved it. She would have had us doing it for hours if everyone had been willing. She will be ready to play "Ring Around the Rosie" with Mia when she comes to visit. And maybe Jordan will enjoy some "Ring Around the Rosie" with her as well.
Yesterday evening we went into town (Tulum) before dinner so that Liz and Alfonso could take care of a few things. There was a big political rally going on. A final rally before an election of some sort which made the vibe on the street more like a party with everyone out to socialize and music playing in the background. Johari loved walking down the sidewalk with lots of people around, music playing and the nightlife. That girl likes to have fun!
She is definitely scared of shadows, day or night. It may be lessening slighly. She calls shadows "dogs" since that was the initial scary shadow that set this whole thing off. Grandpa feels sorry that he ever made that dog shadow, but who knew... All I can say is that it is a good thing that we will be going back to Seattle soon where gray skies lessen the chances of as many shadow encounters until that fear wears off.
A few days ago, Johari had a blast wanting to play with this kitten at Lol Che. She would follow it, very excited, and tell it to come to her. But if it started to seem like it would chase her or come towards her she would sign that she was scared and run to me. I was playing with the cat with a stick. Johari wanted to hold the stick too, but when the kitten would bat the stick, she would drop it scared. She had fun. It was a funny back and forth of her desire to play with and her fear of not knowing what it would do. She had a good time.
She loves to have her little bit of lime sorbet with her grandpa in the evening now. She asks for it often. It is a sweet treat for her. A grandpa treat. We won't be continuing the tradition when grandpa is not around, but it is a grandpa´s right.