Good Morning from Daniel and I.

This is my buddy Daniel. He has the most adorable smile and the happiest outlook. He is outgoing and very smart. He loves to build paper airplanes and wants to know how things work. Daniel is one of the kids I tutor and he has recently written a book titled "King Daniel" where he told a story about himself and the animals he likes. This morning's treat was a baby chameleon that he brought to the office door. He loves to play tic-tac-toe and hangman. Any time these kids get to spend one on one with an adult is precious. I love his little dimples and the way he cuddles in at movie time and how he makes the sweetest cluck, cluck, cluck sound when he thinks something is "smart" or beautiful.

When he came in this morning to sweep the floor we sat and chatted for a bit and took this picture to send to America. I hugged him and asked him a rhetorical question "How am I ever going to leave all of you?" I don't know the answer and there is really no reason for me to ponder this since I still have a bunch of time left here. However, I am about halfway through and the time has flown by.

Mariam also came in this morning before school and showed me her writing that she did yesterday. It was a prayer to God. She thanked him for making trees because they provide shade for us to sit under and they have berries for animals to eat and they give us wood to make furniture. I couldn't help but smile.

I received a note from a friend on facebook who has a friend that was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Chemo started yesterday and she was looking for advice on how to be a good support person. It was so easy to go back to that spot in my brain and come up with suggestions and remember all the wonderful, giving things people did for me - like grocery shopping, cleaning my house, taking me out to breakfast, cooking for me and just plain listening to me bitch. Coincidentally, yesterday I shared some pictures with my new friends from last year at this time when I was bald. I also got a weave yesterday - 6 hours in a bad chair with three women working on my head. I had no idea what these women went through to get their hair to do what it does. Talk about painful!!! It's just good to have hair and be able to play with it. Cancer seems like it was so long ago. Africa has reprogrammed my brain - exactly what I was after.

The lessons are wonderful...

This too shall pass

We are never alone

If we do the right thing, the right thing will happen

People are the same no matter where you go

The world is a small place

One person CAN make a difference

All the fears that I have had at home seem so meaningless here. I questioned myself about doing this by myself and now I know it could not have happened any other way.

Tomorrow Olivia (my surrogate daughter who is now embarrassed that I got a weave and doesn't really want to be seen with me but has admitted that I entertain her) and I are going to Uganda to go white water rafting on the Nile. I love the fact that we really don't know where we are staying or how to get there but that most likely it will all work out. Rock on!!!

Peace out!!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry