God knows we're weak. Omniscience is like that, I guess. With this in mind, we have been blessed with some seriously loving and generous neighbors. I keep telling people what they do for us and nobody believes me. Not even the other Dominicans. So, about a week & a half ago I decided to start documenting the generosity marathon. It's insane.
Are you ready for this? Our neighbors bring us lunch--all four of us--every single day. Like clockwork. 11:30 a.m. Without fail. Since we moved in back in July.
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| From left to right: Chicken noodle soup with white rice, Plantains with tomatoes & cheese, Mangu with onions, cheese, chicken and avocado, Spaghetti with cucumber-tomato salad, Fried rice with plantains and veggies, and Dulce de Leche |
Let's do the math on this one, just for kicks. We moved July 28th. From then to today is around 60 days. We went out of town several times for a few days at a time, so let's call that 10 days. That's 50 days of neighborly love x four people = 200 meals. And there is almost always leftovers, so we've gotten a good number of dinners out of the deal too. Did we strike gold, or what?! And to top it off, we've learned quite a bit about Dominican cuisine. Coincidentally, we still miss Mexican and Thai food. But our dear neighbors are excellent cooks all the same.
They also bring other treats throughout the day. The kids enjoy the days they bring them cups of ice cream. I delight in their ginger tea and smoothies. Josh fully appreciates the fresh fruit: pineapples, bananas, mangoes and avocadoes. We are so very fortunate.
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| From left to right: Chicken, lentil & rice soup, Fresh bananas & avocadoes, Fish with rice, avocado & boiled green bananas, Ginger tea left on the stairway when I return from dropping off kids at school, Turkey with rice, and the Full Meal Deal--veggies, beans, chicken & rice with plantains. |
We still don't care much for the boiled green bananas or plantains or mangu, which are all plentiful. Gasp! I've figured out a way, in the interest of not throwing away any food, to make veggie burgers and decent hashbrowns out of them. In their new disguises, my little family gladly gobbles them up. Yes, it could be because of the added ketchup.
Food for thought on how each of us attempts to be a good neighbor. ¡Buen provecho!