My First Micronesian Kiss

10-27-08


I had another beautiful moment last night. The kind that you want to remember forever. One that you will always look back on and smile. One that is strong enough to give you hope in even the toughest of times. It takes place in a thunderstorm, in the middle of youth center, or to the American eye an outdoor cement basketball court. Initially I was there to spy. I was spying on my competition for the upcoming dance on Friday night, another night that I am sure will be documentation worthy. Anyways, my magic moment. As I was sitting in the shadows spying, the rain began coming down by the buckets. It was heavy, it was cold, and it was down-right scary especially if you were a three year old. While there were several other people around, three of the little children from my host family came to me. They could have gone to anyone. Everyone else there they had known their whole lives, instead they came to me, someone they had known for just a few days. I was sitting on ground and they all climbed into my lap. We all huddled together and with my arms wrapped all around them, providing protection, we swayed. Together, Clifford, Cedric, Rennet and I would be safe from the rain. Eventually the rain let up for a little bit and the music turned back on. The kids made a game of getting up to dance and then rush back to sit on my lap. At one point Cedric was running around and playing so hard that he wasn’t paying attention to where he was going and slipped on the wet pavement, bouncing his head off the concrete. Instantly there were tears. In a matter of moments he was back in my arms, my arms that Clifford never left, and shortly once the rain started again, Rennet was right back in as well. The rain seemed to last forever. My legs went numb, but we continued to sit there and sway, even after the rain had stopped. We watched the ladies begin to dance again, and both Clifford and Rennet feel asleep in my arms. The ladies danced on. Then, after awhile, Cedric turned his head to look up at me, wrapped his little arms around my head, and kissed my cheek. I melted.