SELF CARE-REDEFINED?

Does ending up sick & injured in a foreign country mean you shouldn’t move there? It has surely given me pause for thought.

When we arrived in Ajijic this time we were exhausted from the intensity of prior weeks, trying to wind things down, get things ready, plan ahead, grieve, learn, be excited…Soon after we began to feel ourselves unwind a little, Ben became the target of cyberbullying from an old high school classmate.  It was extremely upsetting & frightening.  It interrupted our vacation for a good 3 days.  Right after that I fell-you already know that story.  Off to the Clinic, limited mobility, pain, poor sleep, ACE wrap, walking stick, etc.  And rest, lots of rest.  Lots.  While everyone else is out wandering, engaging, enjoying.  Arghhh!  Then, just when you think the “bad luck” might break, Ben ends up in the Clinic with early bronchitis.  Antibiotics, expectorants, pain pills.  Jeez!  And I forgot to mention that company had arrived the day before for a 4 day visit.  I hardly had any time with them because I followed right on Ben’s coat tails & ended up with “a stomach virus”.  Couldn’t eat or drink.  Slept a lot.  Weak.  Appointments cancelled. Tours missed.  Contacts too much trouble.  Everything is too much trouble.

Somehow it becomes all about self care.  And asking for help when you need it.  And finding that no matter where you are, there are people to help you.  Ben goes for soup.  I take him to the Clinic.  New friends offer to pick things up for you.  Take you somewhere.  Even the waiter at the coffee shop that you finally made it to sees that you’re having trouble walking & suddenly appears to help you up the steps.  (A gringo gave me a local idiom the other day:  You can WALK-TALK-GAWK but you cannot GAWK-TALK-WALK.   Priorities straight.)
A new friend tells you about a massage therapist that does “amazing work” & offers her appointment slot.  You go & find that her work, mapping your body with her fingers/eyes closed, & her observations before you say much, truly is amazing.  The knees start to heal.  You’re back to wondering if there’s a quieter place to live.  The village is noisy.  And this is low season.

So you read a lot.  THE HUMMINGBIRD’S DAUGHTER (for a sense of old Mexico & the value placed on the spiritual) & THE DEVIL’S HIGHWAY (for a disturbing, engrossing, enlightening read on immigration issues).  I find myself wanting to read all I can about Mexico.  I am fascinated.  Rejuvenated.

A list grows in your mind.  A list of things you must do to take care of yourself.  Not a whole lot different than anywhere else.

• Wear supportive shoes (hard to be fashionable sometimes) & watch where you’re walking.  STOP to gawk.  STOP to take your phone out of your bag.
• Wear a wide brimmed hat & use sunscreen.  Slightly closer to the equator.  Get your skin checked regularly.
• Take your time & realize that the air is thinner at 5100′.  They say it may takes months to adapt.
• Don’t drink the tap water!  Even the locals know that.
• Wash your hands a lot.  Avoid street food until your gut acclimates.  If it does.  Disinfect your produce.  It’s quick & easy.
• SLOW DOWN.  Maybe coming here was all about that.  Instead of our expectations of continuing to plot our adventure.

SLOW DOWN……………………& don’t forget to breathe!  Adios mis amigos!