Day in the Life

Lots of folks ask, what's a day like down there in San Miguel. It differs from day to day, so I'll lay it out, from Keith's perspective, on a weekly view:

Mondays
6:12am wake up, get kids up, breakfast together, pack lunches
7:30am walk about 3 blocks to the bus stop. On the way, we hear the San Antonio church bells ring, see the same dogs and roosters on the tops of houses. Socialize with the other parents at the stop with kisses on the cheek and plans for the day.
7:45am get a ride on the back of Billy's scooter to Meditation
8:00am seated meditation, don't move, just breath, try not to think, wait for the gong at 8:40am
8:45am get a latte and stand in the sunshine
9:15am Tanya's yoga class. Lots of downward facing dog and other stretches that make my muscles shake, but an awesome last 5-8 quiet minutes in corpse pose where she'll cover you with blanket and a bean bag on your eyes
10:40am Back at home, run To Point B business, phone calls, emails, finances, etc.
12:45pm Grab a quick snack
1:00pm More work
1:50 or 3:10pm Back at bus stop to pick up kids. Jason sometimes comes on the early bus.
3:30pm Varies: sometimes comida at home or with other families at local restaurants, sometimes playdates for kids, sometimes more TPB work
5:00pm May go to playground at Parque Juarez and meet up with other families
6:30pm Dinner or light snack if we had comida, bath time
7:30pm Kids in bed for reading or snuggle/talk time
8:00pm More TPB work and emails, phone calls or chat with Mary
10:30pm Bedtime

Tuesdays
Similar mornings up until 8:00am
8:00am TPB work or coffee with friends
10:00am roughly twice a month we head to the Tuesday market, a huge flea market with just about everything being hawked, including some clothes we probably sold in a garage sale in Austin last July, and with great food stalls (tacos, pizzas, churros, fruit)
Similar afternoons and evenings, except Jess is a mother's helper for a cute boy named Kipling

Wednesdays
Just like Mondays, except after school Jessica goes to horseback riding and the boys go the the Club for soccer practice. I usually get in 1000-1600 meters in the pool during soccer practice.
Sometimes Mary and I hit the movies because it's cheap night. So after movies, popcorn, drinks and babysitter, we could be down $24US.

Thursdays
Same as Tuesday except I usually head to the Club to play golf with John from Seattle or other pick up games with mostly 45-65 year old gringo men. Two weeks ago I lost 5 pesos after a good match.
Kids get out at 1:50pm so we try to do some fun activity with them in the afternoon or they have playdates.

Fridays
Just like Wednesdays, except Jess babysits for Kipling again.
We often have lunch over at a BBQ place that serves great chopped bakers and cold beer.
Friday evenings we used to do Shabbat - Jason just reminded us we haven't been keeping up since Dec. so we'll get back into that swing. Then it can be nights with friends or sleepovers or go be "bencheros" in the jardin and talk and watch the teenagers walk around holding hands and flirting and listen to mariachis.

Saturdays
Sleep later.
Soccer games for the boys.
Afternoons can be swimming at the pool or one of the local hot springs or attending a local event or birthday party.
Saturday nights we get date night about 3 times a month if the babysitter shows up (maybe that's why they are so inexpensive!)

Sundays
Sleep later. Sometimes we go out to Cafe de la Parroquia or Cafe Crayola for a good breakfast of pancakes or huevos divorciados.
10:00am Jess has horseback riding again and we usually all head out to watch her
Same afternoons as Sundays.

Also, one nice thing is that most meals are together and we play lots of games at dinner. Sometimes it's Crazy 8's or Go Fish or RF or Mao/Mal if we are waiting for our food at a restaurant. At home, we play "what I like about you" or "concentration" or "spanish words" or "questions around the table".

I left out hammock time, but that will be a future blog entry. Hasta Luego!!!