Mexico

So like I said, Ivan is home! It sounds like he had an awesome time in Mexico. He LOVES going back. I think he really, really misses “home”- even though he also loves living in the U.S. (and has for many years now).

But he misses his family. And largely, his culture.

He is very close with many extended family members- aunts, uncles, cousins, 2nd cousins, etc. And people in Mexico are always up for a “party”. His family (at least his extended family- not his parents so much) is a lot more….boisterous than my family. 🙂 They eat, drink, laugh, play loud music, talk loudly…. And Ivan loves it. He can happily stay up until 3 a.m. talking, drinking beer and eating multiple rounds of Mexican food.

I love to let him go on his own! (Not that I have to “let” him go- he doesn’t need my permission!! But I just mean that I actually like to encourage him to go home alone, as he usually does at least once a year or so.)

When the kids and I are along, he ends up thinking about us/ having to cater a little bit to our needs. I like for him to just be able to go, do, see whatever he wants without having to worry about what time it is, if the kids (or I 😬) need to get to bed, etc. Just ENJOY.

And I think he can really connect more with his parents when he’s more 1:1 with them, too. I get along great with his parents, but there’s just something special about him having some alone time with them to just talk and catch up.

He brought me this cool t-shirt!

He brought Dia de los Muertos shirts for the boys, too! We can wear them on Halloween and then Day of the Dead, too.

It was a bit of a whirlwind trip- he and his brother (the one who lives here, not the younger one who was here visiting this summer) took a redeye flight last Wednesday and got back late Tuesday.

Fortunately his brother posted a bunch of fun updates on Facebook stories so I could follow along a little, because Ivan doesn’t do social media. First stop was the tianguis in Mexico City on Thursday morning. It’s a huge open air market. There are dozens of food stands, and I’m pretty sure Ivan actually dreams about certain items from there. He could not WAIT to eat there. Hahaha.

They had to get negative covid tests the day before their flight home which only cost 245 pesos- or about $12 U.S. (I was nervous when he said he needed a covid test, because I’m pretty my sister said that to fly to the U.S. from Ireland the covid test costs like $150 or something!! So I thought it might be expensive. But $12 sounds much more reasonable. 🙂 Not sure why the same tests cost so much in one place vs. another??)

We are planning to go to Mexico as a family probably next summer. The kids love it. (Although they also think that Mexico City “smells bad”. Which it kind of does. LOL.) We usually spend most of our time in Toluca (where his parents live), anyway, which is not nearly as congested as Mexico City.

Daily Gratitude:

I am grateful for my Halloween lights! Check out this other view of all the lights INSIDE my house! Spooky…. 😉