It's My Life - Melody Carlson [30]
TEN
Sunday, August 26 (on the road again)
Well, I must admit the fireworks show was totally incredible. But to tell you the truth, I felt a little overwhelmed when we first walked into Disneyland today. I mean, everything is so perfect and clean–so vastly different from Mexico. It was like we were on this totally different planet. But it was a great relief to me that I wasn't the only one aware of this difference. In fact, we were getting a bite to eat at (of all things) a Mexican restaurant (Zach and Beanie generously bought me some food after teasing me for having spent all my case–I didn't tell them what I'd spent it on) when I noticed an overflowing trash can with plates still half full of untouched food. “Wouldn't the dump kids just love that?” I said, and we all started laughing. Except for Andrea, that is. She just looked at me with disgust and said, “Don't be so gross, Cate; some of us are trying to eat here.” I glanced at Beanie and we both rolled our eyes. Okay, there I go again passing judgment. (God, forgive me.) But sometimes…
Anyway, I couldn't help but notice Josh's expression when this all transpired. He didn't say a word, but I could tell he was thinking real hard about something. I'm pretty sure that his visit to the dump yesterday did something in him. And another thing I noticed is that he and Andrea don't seem to be such an item anymore. They haven't even sat together in the bus or anything. And today we're all just hanging together as one group–no coupling off. In fact, maybe that's why Andrea is being such a grump today. I feel kind of bad because it seems like she might've missed out on something important. And I don't mean Josh! mean something that the rest of us may have discovered in Mexico, something we found at the dump. But I could be all wrong about this too. Who knows?
Well, I better turn off the light and go to sleep. We're staying in a Motel Six tonight, but at least they have a pool and we all got to cool off before bed. It's after one in the morning, we're supposed to be out of here by seven, and my stomach's rumbling. I wonder if I'll have to beg for food tomorrow. But you know what? I don't really care. I think I should go hungry more often, if only to remind myself of how those kinds at the dump feel. So even if I don't get to eat a single thing tomorrow, it'll be okay. At least I get to do to go home where there's food in the cupboards and fridge. Gee, how lucky can a girl be?
THANKS, GOD, FOR TAKING CARE OF ME. PLEASE WATCH OVER THE KIDS AT THE DUMP. AMEN.
Monday, August 27 (close to home)
I can't wait to get home and take a shower and sleep in my own bed. Suddenly I'm realizing how many good things I take for granted every day. Hopefully, I'll be more appreciative of all the “luxuries” we enjoy each day.
This morning, Josh asked if he could sit with me on the bus. And I could tell by his troubled expression that he was just looking for a friend to talk to, so I said sure, and then asked him if something was bugging him. He kind of shrugged like he didn't really know what to say, so I gave it a shot. “Let me guess,” I said. “Are you feeling bad after your visit to the garbage dump the other day?”
He turned and looked at me like I was some sort of genius or clairvoyant or something and said, “Yeah, I just can't get the images of those little kids out of my mind.”
“I know.” I sighed deeply, trying to decide how much of my own feelings I wanted to reveal here, but finally continued. “The first time I went out there it really upset me too. In fact, to be honest, the filth and smell and the way the kids looked actually disgusted me. But at the same time I felt totally rotten for reacting like that–”
“Yeah, that's exactly how I feel.”
“So I prayed about it and went out again, and God helped me to see those kids in a whole new light.” Well, Josh seemed pretty intrigued, and we had nothing but time to kill, so I decided to tell him the whole story about Beanie and me and the bag of fruit and the malicious looking men. I tried to