These are the Days as They Unfold

I find it a wee bit alarming if many days go by and
In them I never feel an urge to write.
I look at myself and wonder if I'm ok.

(Maybe I need to take my temperature.)

It's not that I'm a great writer.
But I am a writer, after all.

(And maybe before all. I don't know.)

So let me just tell you this--
The days have been weighted with a
Still humidity that is not my favorite.

And yet I have no good reason to complain.

I saw the Variable Sunbird,
Sleek and flirtatious in his bold/shy approach.
He comes so close and I, I just hold my breath.

I watched as all the greens outdid themselves,
Shimmering so in morning sun,
And smiled at sleepy dogs collapsed handsomely at my feet.

I answered mails and did chores
That had long fussed at me (tisk tisk)
From inbox and carefully ignored corners.

And last night I held my daughter's hand
As she fevered in her restless sleep.
Of all my work, it seemed the simplest and greatest to be done.

Heather, in Quotes

Heather and I are home again in Tanzania and I'm too warm and sleepy to reflect much on our amazing trip.

Allow me instead to give you my 3 favorite Heather quotes from the time in England.

When in the little village of Send (where I lived when I was 8-10 years old) we passed a farm and a certain horse caught Heather's attention. In a slightly Anglicized voice, Heather muttered, "That horse belongs under my bottom!"

While gazing at one of the ornate and beautifully painted ceilings in Hampton Court Palace, Heather wondered, "Why do people always think that angels are naked babies?"

And finally, after a very welcome shower at the end of a long flight and a hot arrivals terminal, Heather declared, "It feels good to get the stink off."

I must say, I do like traveling with someone who makes me laugh :-)


(On the train to Waterloo)

Skinny Jeans (or Thoughts from the Train)

I’m sitting on the train on a grey and cold English day. Wonderful, isn’t it? How has this happened?

Heather and I took the midnight flight out of Nairobi to Heathrow on Monday and, next thing we knew, we were standing in the pre-dawn rain outside of Terminal 5, waiting for my dear friend, Anna. Anna got up far too early, collected us and welcomed us to her kitchen fire with cups of hot tea while her sleepy family finished a proper night of rest before appearing, one by one, for breakfast.

We’re here for the triple purpose of my participation on the International Council of 24-7 Prayer, my sharing a bit with the Transit folks who are preparing for the adventures of service that lie ahead, and my meetings with my publishers, the good folks at Lion Hudson/Monarch.

Jumping worlds will probably always jar me, but I do think my infrequent slipping back and forth has smoothed some over time. Last week Heather and I were bartering for second hand boots in the dusty expanse of Arusha’s used clothes market. Yesterday we were standing in Trafalgar Square.

The richness of our experience is not lost on me. I am stunned by it. This morning, as I rode the train to Oxford, all I could think was, “Am I really a writer headed to Oxford to meet with my editor.” Writer? Editor? Oxford? Good grief! I couldn’t have scripted this scene had I tried.

The most wonderful part of this whole trip is that Heather is with me. Her ticket was an extremely generous gift from an extremely generous friend. Heather and I are enjoying the treat of museums and shops and friends and Cadbury’s. And last night, I had the pleasure of buying her a new pair of jeans... Skinny jeans.

I suppose it seems a small thing, but it made me really happy. Heather is 11 and she is blessed much more than she knows to live far away from the pressures of fashion and the Western emphasis on trendy appearance. I suppose that’s why it felt so completely, luxuriously fun to me to buy her something that seems so stylish and practical all at once. It was a treat, and not in the least bit scary because I knew the whole shopping thing would be nicely contained in a couple of short days.

Skinny jeans for my baby girl and the very pleased look on her face they produced. And next week we'll escape back to the land where no one cares. As the mother of an adolescent girl, I am keenly aware that this is called Having My Cake and Eating it Too!

Eleven

Heather is 11 today and we had mashed potatoes and gravy for lunch. Why bother with a lot of other stuff when that's Heather's favorite part of a meal? I'm glad you were born, Heather. You help me pick out the best bits :-)

Young Concerns (or May Her Tribe Increase)

Heather and I read her science and history lessons together daily. I'm happy to do this rather than have her watch the teaching on DVD like she did last year because we get to stop along the way and talk about the things that interest us... particularly the things that interest her.

Now, as I learn with Heather, I am really quite surprised by the little revelations of what makes her tick.

As it turns out...

Topsoil being washed away breaks Heather's heart. Rain forests felled wantonly make her cry. Loss of wilderness and unchecked development make her angry and/or terribly grief-stricken. Pollution makes her crazy.

I am stunned by this 10 year old's heart for Creation.

I pray blessings and blessings and blessings and hope big hopes that her generation will do so much better than mine.

Undone

All the tiny braids are out!

Well, almost all. I think there might be 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 still in there somewhere.

The wild hair season was short-lived as she jumped in the pool shortly after the photos were taken and it all went back to her natural straight. It was fun while it lasted :-)

Dance Dance Dance

Big congrats to Heather, on the left, and her best buddy, Sianna Russell, who recently won the prize "Best Choreography" for a routine they performed at the Umoja Arts Center. What a great way to celebrate their weeks and weeks of practice in our living room :-)

Nicely done, ladies!

Sponge Queen

This is how she gets those curls :-)

It's Good...

... to have big brothers. For one thing, their laps are good for sleeping in :-)

Late Nights

We've been out late too many nights in a row. Each time it was for a good reason but it was really nice to stay IN tonight. Our VCR and our DVD player are both in the shop so we just chilled together as a little fam.

Heather was properly tucked in at bedtime this evening and didn't have to fall asleep in her dad's arms. Below find a snap from Tuesday night when she snoozed at our dinner for Wild Hope's adopted soccer team. It's Ramadan right now so the dinner had to be late.

I guess you can't tell from Heather's expression how much we believe in the young men of our team! May they overcome the challenges of their oppressed community and grow into men who transform their worlds!

A Few Words

"The rain made the garden twinkle in rain drops."

Heather wrote this in her language class the other day.
I really like it. It makes me feel good.

I like that words can do that.