A look at some numbers

300: Number of poopy diapers we’ve changed in the last 15 weeks, which averages out to 20 per week, or 2.8 per day. How do I know this? In South Africa I bought 3 packs of 100 small, scented “diaper bags” to throw away the toxic waste that seems so unending and to keep our bathroom from being dangerous to our health. They lasted just over 3 months. We’ve really got to get Isaac potty-trained!!!

1000: Number of kilometers that Chad has run in the past 12 months. That man can keep a new-years’ resolution! I tease him that even his hobbies have to be goal-oriented, but I guess it works for him. When he started running again in January, he decided to try for “a million meters” for the year, and this morning he got his final 6k. The only problem? Next year I just know he’ll have to beat his record.

249: Number of species of bird Chad has seen since July. One more to go for him to meet his goal for the year. Did I mention anything about his hobbies being goal-oriented? Malawi has a lot of challenges, but the bird-life here is quite remarkable. And as much as I roll my eyes when he pulls out his book and wants to show me the “amazing plumage” of some latest find, I actually do love the way it’s made his love of nature accessible here in the city, since there’s no petrol to go to any of the game parks or the lake anymore. And it’s teaching the kids to be observant and to love nature, too. He and Anya followed a Harrier Hawk through the forest for 20 minutes last week, and she’s still talking about it. And I swear I hear Omara calling all animals “birds!”

32: Number of months (2 yrs 8 mo) we have been in Malawi. I confess there are times when I feel I’ve felt every one of those months, but most of the time has been remarkably smooth. We miss the US conveniences, and we sometimes day-dream about driving on smooth roads at 70 mph, or grocery shopping at 2am just because we can, or driving up to a fuel station and getting in and out in under 10 minutes. But really, we can’t complain. God continues to meet every challenge with a blessing.

1: Number of hours our last fill-up took at the gas station. Chad was over-the-moon ecstatic at how God had blessed us once again with “easy access” to fuel. We regularly talk to people who have sat in lines for up to 16 hours, sometimes even longer! We’ve clocked the lines at over a kilometer long on a regular basis, all over town. It makes me fascinated at how one’s definition of a blessing need to change based on circumstances. The challenge, I think, is in us recalibrating our “dictionary” properly! But this time, we succeeded in recognizing the blessing for what it was. You gotta celebrate the small victories, because sometimes that’s all there is!

And the holidays are upon us, I guess

I spent last Friday night at an out-door Carol-Sing picnic in the heat of the African evening. It was wonderful to sing Christmas carols in the moonlight while cooling down after a hot day…everyone should get to experience a steamy holiday season!! And with no TV commercials, no radio jingles, and no malls, I’m feeling quite unstressed about the upcoming season. Of course, it didn’t even occur to me to start the advent calendar until the kids pointed out that we’re already 7 days late. We’ll get Christmas stuff out this weekend—what’s a few more days when it seems so out of place!?!

Chad finished his term last Friday, not a day too soon. It was an exhausting term with teaching 4 classes. We tried to celebrate with friends at a new hamburger joint, but it didn’t go so well. Isaac was crawling over the booth walls to interfere with other people’s fancy dates, they gave the kids balloons and within minutes I was getting pummeled by all 4 of them while trying to carry on a conversation with the other adults, then Isaac decided to run away towards the road, and then Anya suddenly and without warning got sick to her stomach and vomited. I ended up taking Anya and Omara home before the food arrived, while Chad stayed and tried to keep the boys in their seats long enough to enjoy the American-style burgers. Next time I think we’ll celebrate WITHOUT the kids!!!

The kids get out on the 16th, which feels late. Anya has been echoing my feelings exactly, saying frequently, “Mom, I’m just worn out and I need a break!” I don’t have the heart to tell her it only gets worse. Ethan continues to have great days at school and then some that are not so great. I think he’ll do well with a break as well. The new kid in his class I had such high hopes for friend-potential has been having a rough time adjusting to Africa. I think we underestimate how hard it is on these kids when we uproot them from everything normal and plop them down in a place like Malawi where everything is different and they have to start over with no friends and no extended family. Anyway, this boy isn’t in a place where he wants new friends, so that’s not working out very well. Isaac is also hit-or-miss with his advances. Some days he’ll go 24-hrs without an accident, and then the next day he’ll fill his underwear 3 times before lunch. And that’s gross! I’m trying to stay calm and non-aggressive with it all, and I think it’ll pay off in the long run. I PROBABLY won’t have to send him to KG in diapers! Omara is walking everywhere, and has taken after her brother already in her love of the outdoors and of mud/dirt. She cries whenever she has to come inside. These African-born kids of mine won’t know what to do with a cold winter when we’re home on furlough!

Other things in life are starting to ease a little. Beef is back, and that's good because you can only eat so much chicken! And wonder-of-wonders, I saw Sprite and Coke at the store yesterday. It's been over 4 months since those were easily available. The black-market on Coke was getting quite impressive, I heard! Of course, the short relief from gas shortages seems to be up--lines are forming again, and public transportation is starting to shut down again. I guess you can't win it all!!