Being home

Sorry it has taken so long to do this, it's been busy and hard. I needed time to let things settle down here and there and figure out what I thought about everything. So, I'm sitting here with my really FAST computer, listening to Christmas carols, eating a morning bun, drinking hot real coffee, life is good! To the beginning:
Leaving Nyumbani was so hard. The last few days were a whirlwind of goodbyes, Sunday morning was the 1 year memorial mass for Fr. D'Ag. Protus asked me to speak, got through it without tears. Spent the day packing, how did I get so much stuff? My favorite taxi driver, Mike, came to say goodbye, bringing gifts and his girlfriend, he said that I was his most favorite mzungu customer, but I was very serious about time! We both cried. Leaving the kids was heart wrenching, we gathered in the cottage, tears flowing, I gave each a hug and a kiss in their hand to keep forever and use if they needed it. The boys, all crying, John, Sammy, Brian and George walked me to the pick up truck, John holding on tight. George said he couldn't sleep without a back rub, I told him I'd left instructions for the new volunteer, Sammy wanted to know what would happen if he got sick again, I reassured him that his new medicine was working, Brian was so quiet, John looked up and whispered "Susan please don't go" My heart was breaking. I promised over and over I would be back.
And I was gone.
I cried when the plane took off and flew over Nyumbani. Slept for awhile, woke up feeling sad but excited to be heading home and seeing my family. The Amsterdam airport was overwhelming, lots of white people and of all things Christmas decorations! Every leg of the trip I felt a little better and felt my head turning towards home.
Got to fly first class from Minneapolis to Madison, the 45" leg, where were they for the 9 hour legs! and was so happy to look down the stairs and see my family and friends waiting for me. The biggest surprise was Ali was there! She had flown in from DC so we were actually all together, it was wonderful. They all said I looked like a dirty hippie, which I admit I did. Jack looked and looked at me then took my hand and walked to baggage claim with me. I really think he remembered me. He's such a little boy! Officer Tim was there safe and sound. But it was so cold! I've been shivering since I got off the plane.
Thanksgiving dinner was wonderful, especially because Liz and Brandon announced that baby #2 is due in June! They've known for a while but wanted to wait until I got home, a wonderful homecoming gift.
Then I got the news about the boys in the village..... it had rained, which it only does a few times a year there and a group of kids had gone, unbeknown to the adults, to swim in a sand dam. One of the boys got in trouble, nobody knows how to swim, the other boy jumped in to save him and they both drowned. Their names are Mutisya and Mwoki, it's important to me that these kids always have a name for the rest of the world.
I'm back at work, now working in the allergy clinic. The staff has been incredibly welcoming and gracious to me. I told them they could tell me to cut the Kenya whenever! It's a lot of new to learn but it's good for me. A fresh start, but lots of changes in my life these past few weeks.
What I love: I see my family and friends all the time, I'm clean! all the time! I walk on sidewalks, I drive my car on the right side of the road, I watch the news on TV, I feel safe all the time, even when I'm out after dark. amazing bathrooms everywhere, snow almost everyday! we have 15" here. the newspaper and coffee in the morning.
What I miss: all the kids and my friends, the sun! voice of America and the global news, the work I did there, the sense that time is a suggestion not an absolute, how nobody whines-no matter how desperate their situation is, the sound of Swahili and African music. and yes, the matatus.
What is hard to deal with here: There are a lot of white people here! you have to be on time, you have to move fast, you have to listen to people complain about the most insignificant things like they really matter, the houses are so big and the cars so fancy, the lack of gratitude and the constant need for more, that Kenya is so so far away. That 10 months could go by so quickly.
I will keep up the blog with news of the kids etc. It's good to be home.