Making a Shift

This past weekend was Father’s Day. Father’s Day is a big deal in Perú.

There were big celebrations at the Casa Girasoles in Ica and Urubamba. The boys planned a full docket of events to celebrate the house fathers . . . and their own biological fathers. Although many of them have little contact with their fathers, they still celebrate the contribution a father made in their lives. It is a touching sentiment by children whose lives have been marked by such trauma and challenge.

The resiliency the boys show in their Father’s Day celebration is a great reminder to the shift we are all making in our lives. Things are starting to go back to some semblance of normal. Businesses are opening and people are moving around more than over the past 100+ days of the quarantine. The challenge is making the shift from living in the bubble of hunkering down – and making a new life in all of the changes we find around us.

The boys in our Casa Girasoles homes remind me everyday – the only way forward is through change. They are great teachers. They show me that life, in all its complexity and challenge, can be a forgiving and healing experience when you embrace the love that is all around. And, that’s really it – this shift we are all making is about embracing the shared challenge we’ve been through (and continue to go through) and shaping a new life together.

I am so thankful for the work we get to do everyday. I am so thankful for the many people that make our organization possible. I am so grateful for the great teachers the boys of the Casa Girasoles are in our lives.