Happy Birthday, Jamie!

Today we celebrated the birth of the lovely Jamie Anne Thordsen.

While I don't want to overlook one of my best friend's most special days, this day of celebration leads me to blog about another "Jamie" as well.

Jamilatu is my little friend at the convent. She is the cook's daughter and will turn 6 on November 2nd. Today Jamila wanted to hang out with us to celebrate while her mom went into town. 


Oh the fun we had!

We started out on a walk to the school. My little friend dressed in a pink dress skips merilly along holding my hand while telling me (for the hundreth time) that she wants to be my flower girl.  Jamila doesn't really even associate flower girl with wedding, it's just her dream of wearing a princess dress.  As we walked along the crunchy clay path this evening she told me:

"Oh, Madam Lizziey, it would be nice to walk on rose petals!" 

We walk for a while, discussing serious 6-year-old topics like ice cream, water bottles, and what it would be like to be a sheep. As we wander back to the house, Jamila asks if we can do pilates.

She really is a girl after my own heart.

In the middle of the stretching and twisting of our bodies, I am aware of my feet. They are dust covered, calloused, dirty. The only thing that covers them is an inch-piece of webbing from my Chacos. There are little shells sticking to them from the rooftop terrace.

I think about walking on rose petals, and I come up with only this thought: I'd rather be barefoot, exposed, completely feeling what is under my feet than have pedicured toes stuffed inside a shoe.

Madam Jamie joined us after the sun set and together the three of us colored and created a book entitled, "Fox." The book is actually my KG 2 project for Friday, but Jamila didn't realize she was my guinea pig and I didn't tell her. :) 

After a nice dinner and some more reading of books and tired giggles, Jamila left Jamie and I to our routine of getting ready for the next day of school and getting ready for bed. 

Twenty-two years ago a beautiful person was brought into this world. Today, just as important, that young woman  is building foundations despite the challenges of living and working thousands of miles from the comforts of home. Like most foundations, it's not always noticeable until there's a crack.  When you are dealing with Jamie Anne, there will be no cracks.  The point is, her birthday was shared with our young friend.  It's the every day conversations over coloring, reading, and the patience that comes with working with kids that makes my friend amazing.  It's that investment that makes life not just worth living, but worth celebrating.

Her life is a journey, a twisting path of perseverance, change and strength. I pray she walks her path -from rose petals to rocky geodes- never forgetting every trail is Holy Ground and chooses not only the road less traveled, but does it barefoot: willing to feel all of the nuances life brings her way.