Six Weeks

Today is the big day! It has been six weeks since I have seen my wife and daughter. I was not happy about coming over here without them, but because of the situation at the time it was important that I do so. At the time, we were told there was a cutoff date when we could ship the animals which we later found out was false, BA’s way of securing our business which they did not. Also, it was imperative that I arrive before June 1st because of a project that was eminent, but alas that has not come to pass either. No, I came over early for no reason whatsoever and missed an incredible amount of accomplishments by doing so.

It was incredibly hard on my wife, being alone and having such a full plate. We had already moved once in the month prior to my departure. This move was from a 5600 sq/ft house into a 1300 sq/ft house which, logistically speaking was a nightmare. We have two large storage facilities holding all our extra stuff and cram-packed the newer rental house with the rest of it. When I left, I had successfully packed my suitcases and left a very large mess for my wife to deal with. We had a garage sale that my Mother and Cousin successfully pulled off after my leaving but this required that my wife prepare a lot of stuff for it. I think we probably got about half of what we should have had in the garage sale but that was a great accomplishment all things considered.

My wife is a real trooper. Not only did she coordinate the move out of the rental house to a temporary stay with her family, she was also working and managing a family crisis all at the same time. Also, I do not want to mention that she was also the sole provider for our 9 month old daughter concurrently with all this mess. We had a ton of help from her very good friend, Diana and her family. There is no doubt we would not have pulled it off if not for their outstanding support. Having to pack the house on her own, separate stuff that goes to storage, stuff that goes to Kenya and stuff that needs to go away was a real challenge on her own. If anyone knows my wife, they know that she is mentally adept at being VERY organized. Something I do not possess no matter how hard I try. Through all of the adversity, she managed to keep a manifest list, numbering all the boxes and documenting the contents of each box. Add to this, shutting down all the utilities, arranging for flights, completing her work, dealing with her family crisis, feeding the baby, changing the baby, nursing the baby, supporting her family, writing letters, visiting her brother, and planning an international move…I do not know how she did it, but she did.

She is arriving at around 9:00pm EAT (East Africa Time) and no doubt is going to be bone tired. She has averaged 3-4 hours of sleep a night for the past week. I am so anxious for her to arrive and her be able to relax and do nothing for the next few days. I have already offered 100% baby duty and look forward to pampering her for awhile. There is no doubt we are one, through good and bad, and she is definitely my better half. I am excited to have her here.
I also really miss my daughter! Because of the border-line fraud involved with me leaving six weeks early, I have missed out on so much of my daughter’s accomplishments. She was just starting to crawl good before I left; now she is pulling herself upright and standing (somewhat) on her own. She was just starting to speak a bit and I was able to hear “Dada” before leaving. Now, anytime my wife’s phone rings, she starts saying “Dada!” She also is babbling in complete sentences now, has more hair, more mobile, and generally turning into a true little person. I have missed all of it and have a huge fear that she will not remember me. That is something that I have tried to become comfortable with in my mind but am sure it will break my heart if she does not show excitement when she sees me.

For the most part, I have been solitary and isolated since arriving here. I know but a handful of people and those folks have been out of town for the majority of my stay. I have experienced loneliness that I have never been exposed to before. As I sit here counting the seconds until my family arrives, the moment I see them it will all be gone and back to normal.

Peace,
Dude.
FBO