Tuesday, June 11, 2013

i'm know i'm alive, because i'm learning.

I'm finding a lot 'to do' to keep my mind busy and out of mischief.

Wielding the machete like a crazed hellion yesterday, I drained the water of 9 coconuts, saved it in the freezer for a daily dose, then scooped the meat out of the young ones and made coconut cream.

Today, I'll be taking the meat out of the older coconuts, shredding and drying it for treats later!!

They make it look easy to make your own coconut oil online, and of course being the determined culinarian disciple I am, I'll try to make it myself, but it will be QUITE the trial and error.

Anyway, the moment the men see me trying to emulate them opening a coconut on my own, they come over to the 'damsel in distress' and take the machete from me without words, implying, "Here little lady, let me show you how it's done."

But how am I supposed to learn, if I don't do it myself?

So, I would watch and study them, then practised when they weren't looking.

I finally did it right, then I went over and proudly displayed my first successfully cleaved coconut.

I showed them that I am capable of survival, that I'm learning fast, and that I am not your typical girl.

With my determined learning, it occurred to me, all the information cultivated in Al-Anon ...

... which, for those of you out there who are not related to, or are alcoholics, is for the person affected by someone else's drinking/drugging ...

... could possibly be of great use to me right now.

Again, how am I supposed to learn, if I don't do it myself?

Years ago, I went to Al-Anon without being attached to an addict, but was there to heal from the damage of a recent partner's heroin habit and the father I never had, due to his addiction.

Really, the whole premise is, you can be happy and serene, and can still show respect and care for the person you love, even if they're suffering from addiction.

So far, Papi isn't suffering, except for the fact that he has had a lot of trouble with falling these days, which is completely unrelated to drinking.  He fell out of bed AGAIN today, so we're going to have to get him crib bumpers soon.

I'm the only one who's suffering, so I'll be joining those online meetings now.

I kept myself busy hacking away at coconuts until I had blisters on the heel of my palm and the inner knuckle of my thumb.  My tendons also feel like they need some loving attention.

Not to mention, it wasn't the best thing for my bitch of a back, but I'm still better off than I was in the cold of Vancouver.

I healed with sleep, and this morning, there are no Limping Lesbians in the house.

Then, there were the bananas with more to learn.  I never knew that once a banana tree dons you with bananas, it dies, because its life cycle is finished.

The bananas are the big ending and even look like it.  They're like a great, green mass of stagnant fireworks, complete with the 'oohs' and 'ahhs' of passers by.

So, all those banana plants I had Dominican Daddy pull from the ground should have stayed there, because the only bananas I have now are the ones that just became ready for consumption.

However, I was a little too late picking them from the tree, and the bananas had to be eaten rather quickly.

No problem.  I made chocolate-banana ice cream from a recipe I found online.

Sorry.  But that shit's disgusting.  I'll try to make something more with it, as we have to be quite thrifty these days and I wouldn't want to waste the locally made chocolate I received as a gift!!

Then, I decided to simply eat a banana as my first meal in 3 days.  It did me good, because I also brought one up to Papi seeing as I noticed he hadn't been eating either.

We shared our first meal together.

So now that I've learned about bananas, the baby banana buds will never be clawed from the ground.

They grow in mere days those buggers!  I'm not exaggerating.  I had Dominican Daddy pull about 6 plants out and there were 2 more in their place within a week.

They are actually weeds!  Who knew?!?!  Definitely not this city slicker.

Anyway, I shared the bananas with all the workers to be sure they didn't go to waste and this morning, the workers returned the favour by bringing me my absolute favourite fruit: mangos.

I learned about bananas, how to properly profit from a machete, and how to be loving, even in the face of fear.

There's so much to learn in this life.

Still, like I always maintain; if you're not learning, it means you're already dead.

i choose love, joy and freedom

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