Update from NC (not Tanzania, sadly)

Hello from North Carolina. We were supposed to still be in Tanzania, but COVID did a number on me. Ugh, what a huge disappointment! The kids and hubs recovered just fine. Remember me telling you that I got really sick in 2021-2022? Well, COVID loves that condition and decided to flare it up to the point that I needed to get home to medical care. Again, what a huge disappointment! Thankfully, the kids got to get out and about a little before they got sick and experience beautiful Africa. But, not the full experience we were all hoping for.

So, now I’m back home recovering. Slowly and steadily. I’m fighting my way back to health - which means lots and lots of rest. Isn’t that ironic? I’ve always been really good at fighting towards a goal, reaching for the stars, going-for-it. But, this sickness has me fighting a different way. Slowly, restfully, quietly, day-by-day and inch-by-inch recovery.

During 2021, my body finally said ‘no more’ to the onslaught of harassment and stress caused by no-good-people. That ‘no more’ resulted in a full-body-shutdown and debilitating, multi-week migraines. My fighting to get back to health is to not let those no-good-people win. But instead of fighting in a ring or a debate, I’m fighting in my garden or in the kitchen now. It’s a lesson for me, and I’m learning slowly through each kneading of bread and tending to dahlias.

What have we been up to since returning home? Just being home and getting over jetlag. =)

After I was finally able to get out of bed, my garden greeted me with bursting gladiolus and budding dahlias. So, be prepared for lots of dahlia pictures. For now, here’s my gorgeous glads.

And check out my friends that come every evening! We can hear them squawking inside and I usually make everyone go look at them with me. Perhaps they are standing guard against a nosy groundhog who steals stuff. I’m tempted to put in a groundhog-cam to watch it - maybe it will come eat the food in front of the camera. Have you seen that video? If you need a good laugh, go watch it here!

Today I baked two loaves of homemade bread. There’s something about kneading it over and over that I love and it made me think of this slow process of healing. Over and over again we start and hope. I think the wisdom is knowing that it is not in vain. At least for me it’s not. I was really grateful to be able to do this today and pulled out my Grandmother’s bowl to let it rise. I’m a sucker for nostalgic things like that.

We have also reinstated our family summer-game-nights since we are home. Let me tell you, I love having older kids to play games with. They are whipper-snapper-smart and usually win. But, they still want to hang out with us and play - usually, as long as I have food. This game night was strawberry cheesecake. You can tell in the picture that Charlie was hovering around all of us waiting for us to drop some. I may or may not have accidentally dropped something for him. =)

Thanks for your patience, everyone! I was hoping to write weekly while in Tanzania and share all the fun experiences with you. But, plans changed. So, thanks for coming along nonetheless. Until next time!

Emily