June 2, 2010
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We were the happy recipients of a windfall of new toys this last weekend from a great (and generous) friend who is leaving for their next project next week. I met Sharon about 2 years ago at the Raphia (what a surprise) and since i heard them speaking English and she had a daughter about the same age as Judah i invited her to join our playgroup. It’s been nice having Sharon around because with her here i am definitely not the most liberal person in the group
Judah is pretty stoked about the new lion costume that was in the stash of goods. But we determined that the purple unicorn costume was too girly for our house and have passed it on to the girl next door.
Friends of ours take their kids biking on the outskirts of town where they can bike in an area a lot larger than our front compound driveway. Josh and Judah joined the fun last Sunday afternoon while Asher and i took a nap.Asher started crawling yesterday (June 1) and this morning the memories of Judah getting into everything and having to start the “no, dont touch that!” phase came rushing back. <sigh>. I know many second born children have survived baby-hood, but the added stress of having Judah’s little toys hiding about under furniture and wherenotall makes me wonder how children born after the first one dont all expire from choking hazards. ACK!
On the topic of stressors, one of the MAF personnel emailed us a “pressure points” survey for MAF job holders and their spouses. Although we realize now and again that living in Madagascar doing what we do is at times stressful, the itemization of her survey was somewhat overwhelming in that it listed so clearly the pressure points that are unique to where we live and what we’re doing. Some of the categories included: health and safety, living conditions, cultural differences, relationships, finances…
Josh mentioned the other day, when pressured
, that one of the things he appreciates about me is that i’m not afraid to drive on my own downtown. Yesterday after meeting Sharon at the Cookie Shop for a farewell coffee i decided that since i am apparently so fearless i would drive myself to the Route d’Independance (the centre of town) and see if i couldnt track down the Taf tea shop for some refill loose teas (i hadnt been there in probably 2 years) and also find some closed runners for Judah now that it’s cooler weather and his shoes are getting a bit small. I’m proud to say that i survived my first foray into centre ville without scathes, and it wasnt even very stressful. I suppose the traffic was quite light, which made it a lot easier. I remember driving to the Cookie Shop with Michelle and thinking how fearless she was with her driving everywhere on her own. It’s nice to realize that i’ve been here long enough that i’m now one of those women who can drive pretty much anywhere (important) in this city on my own. Woot, woot!Josh took photos to work yesterday with the intention of blogging about his last trip. Wouldnt that be funny if we were blogging at the same time
His blog most likely wont be posted on Facebook to notify you of it’s arrival, so stay tuned for it.
Comments (1)
if driving in tana is
anything
like driving in mali was, you are wonder woman!! i have memories of being in complete awe of the ‘seasoned’ missionaries’ driving abilities through what appeared to be sheer chaos.
fiona