Mother's Day

Yesterday was mother’s day. I was thinking yesterday that this trip is kind of a waste because I know that my mom would do such a better job at it. If my mom were alive and participating in this internship she would have made tons of Thai friends already. She wouldn’t just know their names, but she would also know their personal stories. She was always the one to initiate conversation; I’ve always been the silent observer. I’ll sometime reach out of myself, but mostly because I feel obligated to do so. My mom naturally reached outside of herself in response to a deep yearning to learn about the world around her and the people who populate it. I’m shy so I use the language barrier as an excuse, but it would hardly hamper my mom’s ability to understand what makes someone tick. In fact, the language barrier would be a fun challenge, and she would want to know about someone that much more. But enough of this! Instead of lamenting how un-Nancy I am, I’m going to use this experience as a chance to develop the skill she so successfully perfected. She left a legacy behind, and I'm grateful for her example. I’ll have to customize the skill to fit my Alyse-ness, but now’s the perfect opportunity to do it. My taxi driver is no longer my taxi driver, but a child of God who has an interesting story just waiting to be told.