Life is bigger than our problems

Apr 08, 2011 Features / Columnists, Stella Says

I decided to bring my mother-in-law and sister-in-law with me on this month’s trip to Guyana. My mother-in-law’s birthday is this weekend and I thought it would be nice for her to celebrate here in Guyana.
She comes back to Guyana at least once or twice a year for several weeks at a time, but was glad to come for an extra trip with me.
On the other hand, my sister-in-law does not get to visit very often and has not been back since 2004.
She has been going through some hard times lately, so I brought her with me to help clear her head and give her something to think about besides her problems.
The flight from JFK is a long one and my sister-in-law has little patience for long flights. By the time we landed in Guyana, we had been travelling for 24 long hours and we were ready for a shower and some sleep.
However, after a less than enjoyable ride from the airport, and after she saw the bus strike up close and personal, we walked into a house without electricity in the middle of a hot day.
She declared within two hours of being in Guyana that she was never coming back again. She was miserable and just wanted to leave.
It did not make it any better that I was having work done on my home and the place was dusty and had to be cleaned before we could rest after such a long trip.
When we finally got everything clean and the beds readied we took naps on what my sister-in-law said was a very hard bed (still no electricity). After we napped, we showered and got ready to go out for dinner.
We all woke up in much better moods and my sister-in-law did not even complain about the fact that I had no hot water. In fact, she enjoyed the “cold” water. We also had electricity when we woke up.
I took them to New Thriving and we sat out on the second floor patio with the breeze blowing by us the whole time. The food was scrumptious and the drinks were a novelty for my sister because I made sure she drank something difficult to find in the US. I could see she was starting to understand why I love Guyana so much.
When we got back home it was late and we were still tired from our trip, so we retired to bed for some sleep.
I was nervous as to whether Sis would sleep well considering her opinion of the mattress, but I also knew that I had positioned her bed right by a window that gets the ocean breeze all night.
She slept like a baby. In fact, she said she has not slept so well in months.
I have introduced her to even more of the life I live when I am here in Guyana and she is thoroughly enjoying it now. I could not be happier.
After all, she is Guyanese – even though she left Guyana 31 years ago when she was just ten years old.
I want her to love Guyana the same way I love Guyana, even more.
It is not that I expect this trip to make her problems disappear or to put a permanent smile on her face. However, when life takes unexpected turns, it is good practice to go back to the beginning and find yourself – your real self – to make sure you know the real you. My sister-in-law’s beginning is right here in Guyana. This country is part of who she is.
During this trip, I also want her to see that life is bigger than her problems. Sometimes the problems we face in life can consume us to the point that we cannot see the beauty all around us.
I hope this trip helps her to put her life back into perspective so she can see that although our problems may be difficult, there is still a great big beautiful world – and a wonderful ocean breeze – waiting to greet us each day.