Zhjokka (sp?)

Zhjokka (sounds like "Joke-a" only there's more of an sh/zh sound at the front) is a wonderful Hungarian lady who lives in my neighborhood. I run into her at various locations around town and she always has a big hug for me. Tonight, she hugged me twice!

Between her "hello" hug and her "goodbye" hug, she told me several more things about herself. Zhjokka is a cancer survivor. Her children and grandchildren are her "treasure." She left a newly built big house in Hungary and is living in a tiny place here, but she is so much happier here! She can't believe there's a Bark Park in the neighborhood with a sandbox for dogs yet no sandbox anywhere for children. Her grandchildren sleep over every Friday night. Not all of them at once, but usually two of the four. Sometimes it's the girls, sometimes the boys, sometimes the older two, and sometimes the younger two. Tonight, she cooked for everyone. She is a lovely person with whom to chat and her last words to me this evening in slightly broken English were, "You are wonderful person and glad we met in USA. I love you, Honey!"

I will always smile when I think of my Hungarian cheerleader next door. Everyone should be so lucky to have a Zhjokka in their midst.