Home, Sweet Home

Home... what a small word that can encompass so many things. To me, it means a sense of belonging, a place where I am known, a place where I know how things work, a place where I can easily be with people I love. Home. It is a good place to be.

The trip home was fairly uneventful-- a little longer than planned but when it comes to planes, I am always glad when they take a long to fix something rather than hurrying. I walked into Winnipeg at 3:15am on the 3rd of August and was greeted by my dad who I had missed a lot. It was late so I decided to just head to my parents-- half hoping that the noise of me getting there would wake up my littlest siblings so that I would get to see them. :) I was in luck because Trishy woke up when I got there so I got a fantastic hug. It was so wonderful to see them again! Sharise, who was barely talking words when I left is now talking sentences. Mindy is a little feisty bundle of cuteness who has an opinion about how life should work when she is concerned. Ronin has started reading and is thrilled when he recognizes words. Trish is almost as tall as me!! Taylor has grown into a young lady even more than before. My nephew, Jeaxon, is walking and talking and singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star well enough that I can recognize it! (He is 16 months.)

Home is a good place to be. A place where I can be white and blend into a crowd. A place where I can easily make a meal by turning on a stove that has four elements rather than waiting for a jeeko with hot embers to cook my food. I made supper in 30 minutes the other day and thought of my friend, Ann, who spends hours out of her day cooking meals and preparing for them. It started me thinking of things that I have enjoyed in these first two weeks of being home. Now, before I list them, you have to know that, in most cases, I enjoyed how they were in Kenya as well. I enjoy both and noticing the differences and enjoying them deepens my appreciation for what I have when I have it.

Conveniences I enjoy...
... brushing my teeth with water from the tap rather than from a bottle
... walking to my bus stop at 9:37 am and catching a bus with a known, predictable bus route
... unlimited internet that doesn't cost extra to send or view pictures
... walking around and not being noticed
... knowing how to efficiently and effectively live (cook, clean, and the basics)
... not having to plan when to use the bathroom based on water availability
... opening a can of soup for lunch
... eating cheese
... being surrounded with things familiar
... my own room!!!!! and my own house!!!!
... speaking English without removing the slang or phrases that don't make sense when taken literally
... living by my schedule
... creating food and eating it with a variety of ingredients
... living beside a grocery store
... walking across the street and making cars stop
... driving-- and on the right side of the road
... blueberries, ice cream and yogurt with a little bit of cinnamon :) mmmmmm
... throwing clothes in a machine to be washed and walking away while it works
... baking things in an oven (no ovens in my Kenyan experience!)
... kitchen cupboards
... Pampered Chef chopper thing (so excited to use it again!!!)
... drinking water from a tap at whatever temperature I want
... recycling service that helps me feel a little better about the garbage I produce
... four way stop signs, traffic lights that are adhered to and walk signals
... wide open sidewalks with clear differentiation from traffic
... the breeze that blows on the Salter bridge
... familiar places and buildings-- even ones with no emotional significance

We live in such a wonderful place. We are blessed to call this place home. Actually, wherever you are reading this, you are blessed to call that place home. I am sure that each of us could come up with a list just as long of the little things that we enjoy in our life. You should try it-- even just thinking about the basics (food, hygiene, transportation) has given me a good feeling inside. :)

That's all for now. I am working on getting pictures on here but I have quite a few to look through.