Resolutions, Goals, Changes

The New Year is one of my favorite holidays. For me, it lasts all of January because I like to ponder and reflect and take my time about it. It's the wonder and excitement of New Beginnings. The promise of realizing goals, making changes.

This January my husband and I are in the process of moving from Guatemala to Mexico. It's taking a bit longer than the typical U.S. move where you hire a van or bribe your neighbors with donuts and pizza to get it all done in a few hours.

We are going via the local transport system and need 4 trips. But that's the fun of it. At this point in our lives, we are all about adventure and discovery.

Our first trip was to decide where we'd live in Mexico. We had chosen Comitan, Chiapas but we needed to see the town and if we liked it, find an apartment.

We found a hotel downtown for $17 a night and stayed 3 nights. Our hotel was through this glowing hallway and then up the stairs to our second floor room. I felt like a fairy tale queen, or maybe Jack and the Beanstalk.

At night the central park in the historic downtown area was still lit up and decorated for Christmas, even one week into January. It was a happy place where people gathered to enjoy the mild evening, eat dinner out, stroll around the plaza.

A marimba band was playing in the square with chairs set up, inviting us to relax and listen to the music. A few couples ventured into the cleared area to dance.

We weren't brave enough to dance, just sat in awe of this magical night, having fallen in love with Cometan.

The next day we found our apartment, a small but lovely place in a nice neighborhood. Altogether a wonderful start to the new year.