Today is the 5th anniversary of my host brother Iker's death. Iker died as a result of complications from Down's Syndrome when he was about 2 years old after spending most of his life in the hospital.
Yesterday, when Zury told me about the anniversary, I asked her if this was a sad day for her. To my surprise she said no, that she's glad because she knows Iker is in a better place. She and Mauricio went to the cemetery for a little while this afternoon, but they are incredibly open about this loss in their lives. This day felt like any other in my family. If anything, it's been one of my better days with my family recently. Mauricio has been eating lunch at home lately, and today the whole family, plus Estefania, was able to eat together. As we were finishing our meal, we started playing a game: We took turns asking each other questions, and the first person to respond with "si" or "no" lost. After playing this for a while, I introduced them to the question game, where you start a conversation with a person using only questions, and the first person to not be able to respond with a question loses. Our lunch table soon turned into lots of smiles and laughter. Maury, my 9 year old brother, finds many things hilarious and kept collapsing into giggles. It was a good afternoon and makes me incredibly thankful for this family that has opened their doors and their hearts to me.
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