As my wife and I approached the border into Tijuana, our van threading the barricades at the checkpoint, both of us, and all the members of our youth group seated behind us for that matter, had the same question.
“No sé dónde está el baño?”
Later, I would ask that question again, this time of a youth – one of many we had come to meet.
And again, the young man, like the border guard, smiled and pointed.
My wife and I had taken our youth group 1,237 miles to work with youth where communication was no small challenge.
But all of us spoke basketball. And all of us laughed, shyly at first, then a lot, especially as the kids from down south decidedly held a home court advantage – a hoop but not net, the rim bent, the backboard cockeyed and all of it on the edge of a steep hill so that if you missed, which we from up north often did, a good part of the day was spent retrieving the ball.
On that beautiful day, a day spent playing ball on a hot, dusty hillside, we all laughed in the same language.
Same in our very own backyard.
With emblazoned letters on her handbag proclaiming her purpose, our census-taking daughter was working her way down her list of addresses to visit when she came across a family party where there were lots of people, balloons, music, food, family, friends, and neighbors.
Our daughter never got a chance to knock on the door before she – the Official Census Taker – became an Official Party Crasher.
At the insistence of this Pacific Islander family, she was introduced to a large plate of food, a wonderful dessert, and all 17 children, grandchildren, and cousins.
On that beautiful day, with now the inclusion of our daughter, they all laughed, and hugged and shared in the same language.
My thoughts this morning as I scroll through the pictures of my wife and I on the occasion of our 50th Wedding Anniversary, next to our love bug, the little green car a gift from our children on that special day, the car a duplicate of the one we drove away in on our honeymoon so long, long ago.
Perhaps I’ll take it for a short drive today.
For it is a beautiful day to remember we all live, and laugh, and love in the same language.
