20.04.09

Well, we’ve been here for 3 weeks now, and are feeling fairly settled, I think. Of course there are things I/we miss tremendously about Madagascar. When we first arrived here I expected to be homesick and at first I thought that being here would make me more homesick for Canada. I have been homesick and even though last night I found myself blinking back tears while I was listening to the Rankins, I have been becoming intensely homesick for Madagascar. Not just for the country, because let’s be honest: it’s beautiful and the people are friendly and kind, but the politics are driving me crazy. Crazy.

This morning I found myself so lonely for Mme Pauline and her cheerful company and the way she does things. Salome, the lady working for us here is lovely. She is quiet, polite, and a very hard worker. I have no complaints, really. But she isn’t Mme Pauline, with whom I’ve developed a way of running a household. She knows what to do. I know what to do. And we do it together. I really, really miss that.

I miss my friends in Madagascar. Tammy and I had planned to scrapbook together one day. But then she was packing to evacuate. Now she’s back in Mada, and I’m in Uganda. I was planning to have Josh and Jocelyn and Judah over for Easter Monday brunch and then they were in Kenya and we’re here. (I know, I may have mentioned that a time or 20. It stank.)

My questionably-legally-imported sweet corn seeds are probably growing sweet corn and being eaten by Solo, the gardener. Our second crop of bananas are also probably being enjoyed by Solo and Mme Pauline. (You might remember that the first batch was ripe while we were in Canada...) My poinsettia is blooming.

I’m frustrated with the pathetic plumbing and water pressure in this house. Since my hair is so thick, I can’t ever seem to get it rinsed properly under the trickling shower. Now my scalp is almost constantly itchy and I feel like it’s coated in un- rinsed shampoo. I know that isn’t the end of the world, but I’ll sure be happy to get back to my own shower with its proper water pressure.

So, yes, I’m homesick. I want to be at home, in my house.

But, in the interest of fairness, I am not miserable here. Really. I know the above paragraphs sound pretty whiny, but I think I’m just processing the sudden changes that we’ve had in our lives.

I do like being here. It’s a beautiful country. The MAF team is very kind to us. We are rejoicing that $1 CDN is actually worth 1750 Ugandan shillings instead of 1300 as we were first told.

I like that the girls and I have almost nothing to do besides school work and art projects and playing outside and cooking and watching movies and playing games and going to the playground. (Because I have a desire to not paint this as a happy-go-lucky, sunshine and roses, fairy tale household: There are some days that I could join the circus after spending all day with them. All day. Every day. Days and days in a row. I know that some of you do that all the time, and I know that I’m their mother, so it is in my job description to do this as needed. But hello! When you’re used to some pre-school, this is a whole new ballgame.)

I like that Matthew doesn’t have overnights here. I really like that he isn’t stressed out here, but just tired from hard work. (Last week he flew long days Tuesday through Friday. He’s allowed to fly into Sudan now, so that means leaving the house at about 6:30 and getting home between 5:30 and 7:00.)

I like that when I decided to write a newsletter last week, I just sat down and wrote it. No interruptions, no feeling guilty because I felt like I should be doing something else, no having to leave to pick up kids from school when I was on a roll. Lovely.

It’s great to have some time to scrapbook and paint without feeling like there are desks to clean off and closets to clean out. I’ve also really been enjoying the fact that sleeping till 7:15 isn’t as lazy as I think it is, because the girls don’t need to be ready for school at 7:30 and Salome doesn’t come till 8:30. It’s going to be very, very hard to go back to setting the alarm for 5:30ish every morning.

So, there you have it.

Oh yeah. I also like that it’s my husband’s 30something birthday and we’re going out for pizza and gelato and I know it’s good because we went there a few weeks ago. :)

Currently:

Reading:
The Screwtape Letters (C.S. Lewis)

Have a New Kid by Friday (Yes, still. I’d love some feedback on how you put this into practice in your family if you have read it.) (Dr Kevin Leman)

Enjoying:
A cool, rainy Easter day

Grilled cheese sandwiches with yellow cheddar cheese

My watercolour “lessons” from a book

The memories of the fun we had at the zoo yesterday (in Entebbe)

Feeling:
Homesick for Mada and my friends there

Happy that we’re making some new friends here

Not ready to really bond with my new friends here

Laughing at:
My husband’s funny jokes

The girls and their funny ways of saying things

Thankful for:
This time of less stress

A house to live in vs. staying in someone’s home

Cool weather, in spite of not having my favourite sweater along

Fun food

Missing:
My routine, friends, house and garden in Madagascar
Having Easter Monday brunch with our MAF-C neighbours in Mada (this would have been our 3^rd year...)

Watching:
Nothing, really, since we can’t download TV here (boo hoo)

Looking forward to:
Exploring more of Uganda

Seeing if I can get a babysitter for next week so that M and I can see a movie together in a real theatre

Having Easter Monday brunch with the other MAF-C family here

Wondering:
If I should make scones or coffee cake for brunch tomorrow

If I will really get back into Facebook now that Lent is over

If it’s bad that I ordered my kids’ lunch off of a kids’ menu that one lady called “nothing but processed rubbish” (I thought that was a bit extreme...)

Reading list for the next few weeks...

Can you tell what areas I feel like I'm struggling in? :) This is my reading list for while we're gone. I'm not sure I'll get it all read, but I'm determined that I need some good input in these areas! Feel free to pray for me if you think of it.

Saturday

I got to take care of this little sweetie on Saturday morning. (We know them from church.) I can think of little that's better than holding a sleeping baby while reading a magazine. :)

My 25 things

I posted this on Facebook where it's very fashionable to do so. :) Some people couldn't see it, so I'm posting it here. There were just 25 on Facebook, but I've added a few more here. It reminds me of the conversation in Little Women where Amy says to Laurie, "Selfish people always like to talk about themselves." :)

1. I’m the oldest of 4 girls.
2. I have four daughters.
3. My sisters only have girls.
4. I grew up on a native reserve in NW Ontario...
5. ...we used boats in the summer and snowmachines in the winter...
6. ...I thought riding in a car was very exciting.
7. My grandma raised 15 children, which makes her my hero.
8. My favourite dessert is peanut butter pie.
9. I hope that someday I can get back into fishing, camping, canoeing, etc.
10. I want to own a miniature cow someday.
11. And I’d like a few chickens, too.
12. And a garden.
13. I hate fashion and I hate being told what I should wear.
14. I love shoes, but don’t always know which shoes are in style. (see #13.)
15. Cooking and baking and feeding people are some of my favourite things.
16. Scrapbooking is my biggest creative outlet.
17. I can speak French, but only dream of being fluent.
18. I am not musically talented and I can’t wait to get to heaven, where I will be able to make beautiful music.
19. I have a very patient husband.
20. I’m very proud of my husband’s abilities as a pilot.
21. I miss my sisters every day.
22. I cry when I arrive in Canada and I cry when I leave.
23. I love eating fresh fruits and vegetables all year round.
24. I love chocolate, but I would probably choose a bag of Lay’s chips over most chocolate.
25. I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook. I want to leave, but am scared I’d lose touch with too many people.
26. I look forward to being a homeowner someday.
27. Yesterday I bought a birthday present for Matthew from a lady on the side of the road. It was a spur of the moment purchase, but I'm so excited about it that I can hardly stand it. Odds are that I won't be able to wait till his birthday to give it to him.
28. I'm very tempted to use this list to make statements about what I think of people because I could disguise them as random facts about me.
29. I need to go because I have hotdog buns rising and they need to be baked.
30. Today I've made pear/applesauce, hotdog buns and cinnamon rolls. We're having guests for lunch and going to a bbq for supper, so the cooking isn't done. Good thing there's #15, eh?

honesty

(this was written yesterday, and I was really at that place yesterday. this morning my devotional reading was on God's power when we are weak...I don't think that was coincidental. so, i'm in a better place to begin today, but your prayers are still appreciated.)

We’ve been back in Madagascar for eleven days now, I believe, and it’s been quite the eleven days. First I had the jet-lag that just kept on giving. The girls have all been sick and still have lingering coughs. I was also sick and am still coughing enough that my ribs are sore. One piece of our luggage arrived a week (ONE! WEEK!) after we did. There was a cyclone, which gave us days of dreary weather. Next came some political tension/civil unrest stuff, which still isn’t over. We are confined to our compound, unless we’re with a group. That sounds much worse than it is, with the exception that it kinda makes me feel antsy just knowing I’m not supposed to leave. : ) This morning I went out with 8 other MAF staff and volunteers to get groceries. The supermarkets are closed today so we did our shopping in the many small shops along the road...I found almost everything I wanted, but I don’t think I ever got more than 2 things in the same place. :) It was kind of fun, but since I’m still recovering from this sickness it’s really left me exhausted for the rest of the day. Our house still feels un-put-together, our routine is still on trial, the girls haven’t been to school yet because of either sickness or the tension in town. Homeschooling is still in the getting warmed up stage, and it’s a little bit of a shock to us all to see what that feels like again.

All of this is not quite the “welcome home” I was looking forward to. I had big plans of organizing closets as I unpacked the new clothes we brought back, not just unloading stuff and making hasty decisions about which closet to shove it into. I haven’t been able to go to church either Sunday that we’ve been back, which is a giant disappointment. I missed our church more than anything else in Mada while we were away, and I was so looking forward to getting back to it.

I know that this season will pass by. I know that God is faithful and I’ve never looked back on a hard time and saw that He really messed that one up. I know that we have many, many blessings...kids that are not seriously ill, kids that love to play and learn, friends that have welcomed us back lovingly, enough food and clothing and shelter and water to meet our needs. I know.

The hard fact of the matter is that I’m having trouble remembering. It’s been difficult to remember why we’re here.

Last night as I was going to sleep, I was thinking of the lyrics “when sorrows like sea billows roll...” and I had to think to myself, “It’s really not sea billows. Maybe more like a choppy, white-capped lake.” I hope that whether it is sea billows or a few bumps along the way, He will teach me to say “It is well with my soul.”

Currently....

Reading:
A Complicated Kindness (Miriam Toews)
Blue Like Jazz (Donald Miller)
Lord, I Need Grace to Make It Today (Kay Arthur)
The Boxcar Children and Walk the World’s Rim, two of the kids’ many school books
What Do People Do All Day (Richard Scarry) (Ok, ok, so I haven’t actually been reading it, but I often give it to L to read while the rest of us do schoolwork....)

Enjoying:
Fall colours
Lays’ Sea Salt and Pepper potato chips
Ice-cream with things like peanut butter and chocolate chips in it
Using a clothes dryer
Taking the girls for a walk to the playground
The leftover homemade split-pea and ham soup
Being warm in the house even when it’s cold outside
Calling people in Canada without thinking of time zones and costs

Feeling:
A little tired of people
Far, far, far away from Madagascar (that’s good and bad)
Slightly panicky about the upcoming weeks
Happy about the way my girls are getting to know their cousins again

Laughing at:
My girls playing such heretical things as “she’s Jesus and she took us to heaven” (said as they played tic-tac-toe with a rather controlling “Jesus”)
The very idea that furloughs are relaxing

Thankful for:
God’s grace to make it one day at a time
God’s grace to look at our upcoming 6 weeks on the road one event at a time
The house we were able to use, and now my parents’ hospitality
Many people and their kindness and generosity
Other people’s babies to hold :)

Missing:
My routine, friends, house and garden in Madagascar
Sunday lunch at the Raphia (in the garden, of course)
A Sunday morning at Vision Valley
Judah’s little excursions into our house
Contentment

Watching:
A lot of Jeopardy
As little SportsCentre (or whatever it’s called) as possible
Some Survivor, but it’s losing its appeal quickly (it seems pretty scripted for being unscripted, ya know?)

Looking forward to:
Going away with Matthew for a weekend (even though we’ll have a MAF presentation to do, as well)
Thanksgiving
Finding out if Karla is having a boy or a girl

Wondering:
How to stop gaining weight
What my garden in Mada looks like, after Big Hailstorm ‘08
How we got to be old enough to have a great-niece (but, wow, is she sweet)

prayer request

This afternoon I went to see our friend the NP. He wanted to see my knee (he told me afterwards that he wanted to make sure I didn't have a blood clot) and told me that I have fluid on my knee, perhaps due to tearing/traumatizing part of the inside of my knee. Oddly, I still have no idea how I might have done that. I'm supposed to ice it, take ibuprofen and, um, rest it. Yeah. Rest it. He laughed when he said that. So, please pray that this is better by the time we need to walk through airports, etc. It is improving a little bit, so I'm sure with God's help it can really be well by next week!

My life in numbers

6.7 - the temperature outside when I got up this morning (Celsius, of course. For you non-C people, that's 44*F). This is my personal record for lowest temperature I've seen in Madagascar.
12 - the temperature beside my bed (53*F).
47 - the times I mentioned (briefly and cheerfully, of course) that I was freezing.
2 - the thumbs up I give to the inventor of pain au chocolat.
4 - the girls that are being entertained by a friend this morning while I ran all over doing almost-last minute errands.
125ish - the vanilla beans I bought this morning.
11 - the days until we go to the airport and fly to Paris.
1 - the nights we spend in Paris en route.
4 - the overnights M has between now and when we leave.
5 - the maximum number of pieces of checked luggage I hope to have.
1 - very mysteriously sore knee I have today. It feels like I've pulled or strained something important, but I have no memory of anything that might have caused an injury.
900,000 - the money I got out of the bank today.

Rhonda is...

Feeling:

• Happy that we get to celebrate our 10th anniversary without kids!
• Concerned about Mr. Frank, who is still in hospital.
• Grateful for people "back home" who are praying and caring for Mr. Frank.
• Tired of bickering kids.
• Immensely grateful for the opportunity to buy a keyboard from a family leaving the country. C and I have been praying for this for months! I feel like this is a "just because I love you" gift from God.
  

Reading:

• The Lord of the Rings (for the third time, but I've never actually read it all the way to the end)
• The Chamber by Grisham
• The Sonlight catalogue (as always)
• Leviticus, Psalms, Mark (I've changed my plan...still trying to read through the Bible, but maybe in 2 years instead of one)
• many kids' books (hopefully there will be a whole post devoted to this topic coming soon)

Eating:

• Guavas! Yay, they are finally in season.
• Less sugar and meat...when I remember.
• Tomato sandwiches - as often as possible.
  
• Pizza with onions, fresh basil from my garden, parmesan cheese, "mozza" cheese, fresh tomato slices and black pepper.
  

Planning:

• M's birthday celebrations this weekend
• With M and the wonderful MAF-C "travel lady" about how we're going to get to Canada in August. Ticket prices are sky-high and we're searching for the best route.
• How to finish C's grade two work before we leave in August.
• How I can fit more scrapbooking into my life. :D
• To start another Beth Moore study, this one on Daniel.
  

Missing:

• Friends who aren't here.
  
• The "growing up" of my nieces and nephews.
• Customer service, the way I want it. (not hovering, just waiting to be useful, and then actually knowing enough to be useful)

Looking forward to Canada:

• Shopping in a country where I'm not an XL.
• Eating sandwiches with all the things I'm hungry for - smoked turkey, yellow cheddar, etc. Too bad I can't bring back some of these tomatoes for that!
• Being with my husband for a loooooooong time.
• Seeing Karla with a belly. :D
• Eating walleye and blueberries.
• My birthday - with family, I hope!

Laughing at:

• A and S trying so hard to speak French.
• My city kids - asking me if the fish we had last night for supper came from inside a fish body. Yes. From the water? A fish from the water?
• L, who wants to go to school so badly. She's also become completely confident about Sunday School and scorns any suggestion that she's too little for things of this nature. (She probably will start going to school one morning a week in May.)
  

Dreading:

• Going into the bathroom to check on A and S who have been playing in the bathtub while I wrote this and now are fighting like cats.
  

What a weekend.

M was gone on an overnight Friday night, so Saturday morning when I wanted to go get groceries I took all four girls with me. I went to two stores, with pretty long lists for each store. (I did start cutting things off the list by the end!) In retrospect, it was ok, but I can tell you I probably won’t try to make it a weekend tradition. It was asking a lot of them, when I hardly ever take more than one at a time. After M got home we went out for a late lunch at the Cookie Shop (bagel sandwiches, brownie sundaes, mochashake, tiramisu, etc…what a treat). That was fun. It was a hot sunny day and we met lots of friends along the way.

S has been fighting infections again. She gets something on her skin and it’s infected. It doesn’t seem to matter if it’s a bug bite or something else. She’s on antibiotics again. :( I have spent so much time crying out to God this weekend. Must we just live with this? Will He eventually heal her? And, at times, if I’m honest, is He listening? Saturday evening she threw up, had a low fever and a rash that looked like the start of chicken pox. I was so excited. Finally, chicken pox. Something that I know about and can identify! But this morning they were all gone and she’s been (relatively) perfectly fine all day. We have an appointment with the NP for tomorrow morning, because I want him to check out her infections, but she doesn’t seem a bit sick anymore. So odd.

I went to church alone this morning, just in case we have something contagious going on (although I’m more and more sceptical, since it’s only S in our family who ever shows any signs of skin “problems”). I wonder when the last time was that I went to church alone. It was fun. I got to sing, pray and listen to the sermon without distraction. What a refreshing break. It’s like a cold Coke on a hot day to go to meet with other believers and be encouraged. Our pastor has often talked about how meeting with other believers is a way to come back to “center” each week and I find that to be so true. This has been a weekend with plenty of heartache in it for M and I, and I was so encouraged this morning at church to look ahead to what God is doing in the future. What are the things that lie ahead of us? Where will He take us, figuratively and literally? Oh, I cry out for the grace of God to leave the past in the past!!

We had our family review with MAF recently, and one thing that encouraged me so much in that conversation was that when we overcome problems, we are farther ahead than we were before we overcame. I sometimes get so bogged down in struggles that I forget that I can grow and mature through them – that they don’t have to be wasted time.

So, there’s my heart for tonight. We sure could use your prayers…for continued wisdom with S and her mysteries, for grace to walk on.

answers, part 5

From Iris:

1)do you still have frequent stomach "issues."

Not so much. It’s sort of swung in the opposite direction, as well, if you get my drift. And thus we come to the conclusion of discussing my bowels on my blog. :)

2)What is your favourite time of day?

After the kids are in bed and it’s QUIET. Very, very quiet.

3)what is your favourite "date" activity with M. (Besides THAT)

Although it stinks when he has to fly on a Saturday or Sunday, it means he gets a day off during the week. And then our favourite thing to do is go into town and have a date at the Cookie Shop (in the morning, while kids are at school or with Mme Pauline). We do wild things like eat brownie sundaes at 9 AM. It’s great. The best part is that we get to talk without interruptions for at least 2 hours. Sadly, it hasn’t happened for quite some time.

4)Do you still have time to read novels? Who is your favourite author? And type of novel? How often do you read? I guess I should just ask what you read when you do read.

Yes. Hmmm, not sure I have a favourite at the moment. I love any fiction that’s either truly believable, or completely pretend. (i.e. A Wrinkle in Time) I read whenever I have a spare 10 minutes. My most recent reads have been, The Life of Pi by Yann Martel, The Poisonwood Bible by ?? Kingsolver, and the story of the Trapp Family Singers. (Since you mentioned that you had read it I was very interested in it, and was really inspired by it.) By the by, The Poisonwood Bible was really popular a few years ago and I never read it then. Now I would say it’s one of my favourites, although it was one of the most depressing books I’ve ever read. I’m really off of Christian romance right now. (Like Karen Kingsbury, etc.) There really is nothing new under that sun, as far as I can see.

5)Who's your favourite singer? What's your favourite cd(s)?

I hardly ever put music on in the house, and in the truck I’ve been listening to Matt Redman’s “Beautiful News” CD for ages now. I have very simple demands for music…it must not make me feel claustrophobic. I guess if I had to take one CD for the rest of my life, it would be Steve Bell’s “Romantics and Mystics”. Love that.

6)Who's your best friend? (The rest all promise not to take offence that it's not them.) =) Just KIDDING!

Question rejected. :) No, seriously, I couldn’t choose a best friend if I had to. I have so many good friends, and I’d hate to rank you all.

7)How often do your thoughts turn to Canada? (we promise not to take offence if it's not every hour)

At least once a day, when I check my e-mail.

8)Do you hope your kids go to the ends of the earth like you did/are?

Yes.

9)Do you ever see yourself living a "normal" not-on-the-misson-field-so-to-speak life?

Oh yes. Definitely.

10)Do you care if I do this on my blog?

Please do! I hope everyone tries this so I can be on the other side and ask all the crazy questions. :)

11)Have you ever tried to comment on someone's blog while 2 kids fight over who gets to sit in your lap or hang onto your leg both screaming and crying all the while? I think I'll hurry and finish this....

I’m sure that there have been similar scenarios here at our house.

answers, part 4

I was looking at the long list of questions that Erin sent me, and suddenly I realized how I should have been doing this all along. So, here’s a new format for the questions from Erin…

HOW was the special massage at The Beauty Seed?
Haven’t gone yet…hope to go soon, though, so I’ll let you know.

IF you were willing to dye your hair, what color would you go?
I’m really thinking of dying my hair due to the rapid appearance of grey hair lately. I’m thinking of blond highlights in various shades, similar to what I had when you met me, if you remember…

HAVE you been wearing clothes from your color palette?
When it suits me. :) Erin, Erin, Erin. You know how I feel about that. :)

IF you could go on an all expense paid retreat next week, which would you choose: marriage, scrapathon, womenoftheharvest, bethmoore, cardiobootcamp, or parentingplus?
Marriage. Only scrapbooking if I could arrange for all of my friends to be there, too. (That was a tempting array of options, by the way.)

IF you could have a cup of tea with me tomorrow, where would you like to go: vamp me back to Mada, warp you to my house in Abbotsford, or sit in a cafe in Paris halfway?
Your house because A. I’ve never seen it and B. we might be able to go out shopping afterwards. :)

IF you could choose to visit the Lemur Island again or not, which would you choose?
I’d choose to wait 10 years and then go again.

IF you could play Settler's with Richardsons & us at the same time, 1. would you still use white to sneak in under the radar, and 2. which of those guys would you try to annihilate first?
I would still use white. It’s subtle. And it’s my signature colour now. As for number 2, are we playing Settlers or Risk? :D I’d always love to beat Chris, but beating Kevin or Matthew also has its satisfaction. Shucks, I’d just like to beat you and Paula. :) p.s. did you know I beat Chris the very first time we ever played with them?

DO you think our kids will remember each other in another year or two?
Sigh. I hope so. Can we meet up in Canada so they don’t forget?

WILL Ben & Sierra randomly meet one day and marry?
It’s one of my dreams. :) It does seem like something that could happen. It also seems as though there could be conflict…like if S carries the remote around for days on end, protecting it jealously. That could be a problem.

answers, part 3

Carol has come out of the shadows to ask me if I still want 12 kids. In theory, yes. But in real life, that didn’t work out. :) I already have days where I look forward to grandkids, though. Imagine: lots of little kids to play with, but not really be responsible for. Sounds good to me. :)

And she asked if I have a middle child. I don’t know exactly what all you think of when you think of a middle child. I find it hard to give either of them enough quality one-on-one time, if that’s any indication. (I spend lots of time with C doing her schoolwork. I spend lots of time with L because she still needs me for lots of things.) I’m looking forward to homeschooling A and S next year and hope that it gives us more time to interact purposefully. As for them, they are very interested in the fact that A is 16 minutes older than S. S is especially interested that in spite of the first fact, she’s almost 2 inches taller than A.

Rachel asked quite a few questions and it sort of made my head feel a little funny. I’ll see what I can do.

My best memory of Poplar Hill (in case someone doesn’t know, it’s the little, fly-in reserve where I spent 10 years of my childhood) would be something that involves nature. Perhaps fishing. One good memory is coming back from blueberry picking with my best friend and her parents. Susan and I were huddled together in the boat to keep warm and we were singing “Anywhere with Jesus” in Ojibwe at the top of our lungs. Yeah, that’s a good one. It’s hard to choose, though.

My best memory of Israel is living in the old city of Jerusalem, and being a 5 minute walk away from the Western Wall. Or visiting Bethlehem. And eating falafel with the juices running down my arms. Again, hard to choose.

Next Rachel asked what 5 things I would change about M if I could. How about this: if I could change one thing about myself, what would it be? Well, I would automatically pray about the things I’d like to change in M instead of trying to fix them myself.

What was the best part and the most challenging part of 2007? Best: having 2 of my sisters come to visit. Most challenging: not leaving Madagascar at all and/or having my friend Erin move away.

If I won 350 baby chicks, where would I keep them? I’d keep 10 in a small enclosure in the back yard. The remaining 340 would be kept in a DHL box addressed to Rachel. Ha ha ha.

Do I miss my stereo? No. I hardly use the one I have.

My primary love language is gifts, followed very closely by words of affirmation.

Does M still laugh out loud when reading Pat McManus? I’m not sure because thankfully, he doesn’t really read them that much anymore.

If I saw a moose or bear in Madagascar, I would check to see if I was dreaming, then if I wasn’t, I would sit down and laugh. Then I’d call MAF-C to arrange a psychiatric evaluation.

Do I miss Rachel as much as she misses me? That, my friends, is where I say “I don’t know.”

I do not wear my heart on my sleeve, but if I did, it would be the left one.

And, yes, I do feel that I have been asked many excellent questions and that I am the object of much interest. I highly recommend this for any blog. It’s fun.