Where Bananas Grow in the Backyard

Yes, we've done it again! Clara and I are taking a month away from the great white north (and Hurricane Alex) to hang out with Mario's family and my kids in Morelos, two hours south of Mexico City.

This trip came about as a bit of a fluke. We hadn't seen Mario's family since Clara's birthday in January, and I was missing them a bit. However, no long weekends were in sight for quite a few months. Furthermore, Mario's niece had her third birthday on the 28th of June (the third birthday is a big deal in Mexico), plus the girls that I took care of at NPH will be graduating 6th grade. I really wanted to be here. So I casually mentioned to Mario the idea of maybe going here for a few weeks (sometimes flights between Monterrey and Mexico City are very affordable) and he said he had been thinking the same thing! However, his plan was to drive down, and leave me the car to visit my kids. He´d fly home and then come back for us in a month.

A month?

I was kind of thinking that two weeks would be good.

But Mario reminded me that his nephew would have his birthday about a month after his niece. OK. I was sold. I'm a sucker for those kids and don't get to see them near enough. After all, they're a big reason why we're here in the first place.

But now that we´ve been here for a week, I have additional reasons to be excited that we've got a few more weeks to go. Graduation at NPH was NOT held during that first weekend of July, as it has been since time began (OK, since Zedillo extended the school year to trim summer vacation to a meager 6 weeks). School started a week late this year, which means that graduation is this week instead of last week. I'm glad I had that flex time in my schedule. Plus, my sister-in-law mentioned going to the zoo in Chapultepec Park while we're in Mexico City. I love Chapultepec Park.

The flaw in Mario's plan was that which gave me use of the car. I've sworn for years that I would NEVER drive south of San Luis Potosi. With no set rules, combis, buses, and bikes swerving all over the roads, I was positive that driving here was beyond my skills. Furthermore, I haven't even driven in Saltillo since April (the mighty Cougar has been in the shop since then). I thought I was not ready to tackle driving with those not educated in Saltillo.

I was wrong. I have driven twice to NPH now from Jojutla (40 minutes away) and enjoyed it. Will wonders never cease?

Now our plan is: one more week in Jojutla, one week in Mexico City, and then one more week in Jojutla. Awesome.