warm water

warm bed. warm hands.

warm thoughts. warm sand.

warm water; in a glass, not a bath,

no, no ice, it’s plenty nice

just warm.

cold water sweats and 

warm water gets cold;

lukewarm is consistent,

doesn’t make my brain freeze

or tongue blister. if you please,

i like my water warm.

cold is refreshing, true,

if it doesn’t crack a tooth

with climate change and

lukewarm won’t cool me down 

but i know it can swish around 

my mouth with ease.

hot can be cozy, can relax,

until one sip too hot, too fast

and everything tastes like ash for days.

lukewarm won’t warm me through 

but it’s safer than being burned to

crispiest crappy you’ve ever seen.

“i’d rather you were either 

cold or hot, instead of neither

here nor there.”

and i’m scared 

because cold means sweating 

and hot means playing 

with some kind of heat I

probably can’t handle.

warm bread. warm butter.

warm cookies. warm supper.

warm water; 

it’s familiar, not the best

it’s the middle of the rest

i guess

i’m scared of going all in 

to find that

cold warms up and hot cools down 

and in order to maintain

i have to change,

consistently choosing discomfort.

i like my water warm.

warm breath. warm breeze.

warm coffee.  warm sheets.

but warm life?

warm life...

not cold, not hot,

just meh. maybe not.

Water, Water Everywhere

There is a reason they call it rainy season instead of winter.  Winter implies a lovely blend of wintry weather.  Rainy season doesn't have variety. It's rain all day, every day. Cheers.

Despite the drumming rain and swelling river, life goes on.  We joke that we're starting a petting zoo at the house.  When I arrived in November, the only animal residing with us was Jojo the dog.  Since Christmas, we have acquired several additions. The first addition was technically a pair of lovebirds, Elvis and Mango.  Within a week of their arrival, however, they saw a chance to escape and took it.  The kids were sad and I was...not.  Next, Adobo the compost-eating pig arrived via helicopter with a second pair of lovebirds. These lovebirds have yet to receive official names, but I call them Hansel and Gretel, mostly because a witch locked their namesakes in a candy house to die. (Can you guess how I feel about keeping pet birds?) The most recent addition is a turtle.  He hasn't been christened yet, either, so I'm calling him Grindelwald.  My feelings on keeping a turtle are pretty similar to those on birds.  I'll add pictures by a separate post, sans birds.  The only thing more depressing than a caged bird is photographing a caged bird.

Personally, I have acquired acid reflux for the first time in my life.  It isn't a very pleasant life experience.  Any ideas on how many times the word sphincter is used to describe the symptoms? More than a few. And I still laugh every time I see it.  The hopeful cure for the malfunctioning sphincter?  No coffee, which is basically like saying no oxygen.  I'm not complaining, I just hope it actually works.

Missionally, the guys are translating the story of Joseph.  Eddie, one of the tribal language helpers, has been told up to Joseph's journey to Egypt.  At the end, he said, "What's next? It can't end there!" Pray for the preparation of his heart and the hearts of the village to hear the Good News!

In the words of Porky Pig, that's all folks! (For now, at least.)