Brunch with Gloria and Maria

This morning, I will be shouting out love to women in general and a handful in particular – some I have known and loved for years, a couple of new friends, and one woman I have never met but whose kindness and knowledge explained the intricacies of a system that I am a part of but wouldn’t understand fully if it all took place in English.

Enter Doctora Laura Manzano from medhelp.mx, a new organization from the look of their Facebook page, who guides expats gently into the massive Federal healthcare/pension system called IMSS – Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social. First order of business: do not be late with payments. I could repeat that a hundred times, and the importance may still not sink in. If you are, like me, enrolled in the “Seguro para la Familia” plan at IMSS and pay monthly or twice a year, change it to annual if you can – it’s a cushion and a benefit, and it’s done. Presumably, you will be less likely to forget to pay on time. (Ahem.) My dear friend, Chiara Montante, told me about Dr. Laura with glowing reviews. Thank you, amiga, for sharing her information with me and thereby saving my sanity. And, thank you, Doctora Laura, for restoring that sanity! Thanks to Pam Thompson who reached out instantly with info on interim health insurance that I do not need.

I went straight from that remarkable phone call, happily up the hill on Inturbide to meet Gloria Fiona and Maria Felix Macias (aka Angel) for lunch at the Planeta Vegetariano. Two more women who unexpectedly impacted my life over broccoli with joy, love, and trust.

Remember Gloria and (Good) Irene’s secret wedding at Mayto a few weeks ago? The unveiling of that truly sacred ceremony will be unfolding in Vallarta Mirror over the next few weeks with photographs and text so sweetly written you will want a wedding just like this one.

And, guess what? You, too, can be married by Maria Felix on an exquisite beach without cell towers mangling the frequency of the abundant nature surrounding that piece of coastal heaven 90 minutes south of Vallarta.

Gloria, Maria Felix, and I covered so much ground in an hour and a half at lunch that my brain is still racing, chasing this idea one way and that idea another. Just get ready to be inspired, from your painted tootsies through each and every chakra and emerge in peace at the end of it. Or is it a beginning?

Go to Georgia Darehshori’s apartment at Avida at 6 pm, Monday, June 09, where painter Rene Nieto will paint a new canvas that will be auctioned off with a percentage of that sale going to our beloved Vallarta Garden Club. Gloria’s voice will be raised as she feels; be ready for spontaneous creations. Donations will be accepted, and Georgia will have non-alcoholic beverages available.

Sandra Bradley, another woman in my life I love to pieces, and I, are going for dinner at Hacienda San Angel this evening for Restaurant Week. Tomorrow is the First Saturday of the Month at Arte Vallarta Museo. I never miss this super event. See you here, there, and everywhere.