Adios!

Today Abuela leaves after spending 7 weeks with us. With such a long journey to get here and back, it's been wonderful to have her stay for so long and help us out with the transition to a four person household. Her cooking and cleaning have kept us afloat when I would have been hard pressed to even dial delivery. It's been better than a freezer full of meals because she's also been an extra pair of hands to help burp Carolina or cajole Elisa onto the potty. And as anyone with a kid and a baby will say, you can never have enough hands on deck. Even when I could have done it all myself, it's been so much nicer not having to. And though you can never really make up for frequency of visits, at least with this long stay, Abuela has been able to see her granddaughters in their own environment with their own friends and routines. Elisa's Spanish is coming along after weeks of shy resistance and now she loves saying "Buenas noches" with a sweet smirk each night before bedtime. It's also true that this time around Elisa has had more frustration making herself understood to Abuela. Part of her maturing and communicating better in English means that she wants everyone to understand her and be able to respond in a way she understands. She's still too young to quite grasp that Abuela doesn't speak English and that she will have to speak Spanish to her to be understood. With Papa she can get away with her English-only replies but no so much with Abuela. And at times that has been challenging. But I have no doubt that Elisa's comprehension of Spanish is excellent and she will soon make more strides in speaking it. It's a progression and I think she's doing great, but still there is a long way to go. Hopefully she will be the one to help Carolina learn too and then there will be no stopping the Tortajada girls. Summer vacations and holiday visits to Spain will also aid the process, so let's see if we can't get over there soon. Because this is not good bye as much as it is see you later. Hasta pronto!