New Girl

This week Adam's former boss and his wife came to Angola to see if they want to move here.  I got to show the wife around town, and it really made me realize just how far I've come in these last 3 months.  When I met her at the apartments she was touring, I recognized the fear in her eyes right away - it was just how I felt when we came here in June for our reccie trip.  Only a month ago, I would have struggled to be positive when telling her about life here - but somehow I have managed to get to a place of happiness.

The best part of the visit for me was when I realized that the man showing her the apartments was also the man who manages the maintenance for our compound.  I asked him if he was going to replace the gas canister for our BBQ anytime soon, since we'd been asking him for 5 days to take care of it.  He said, "Madame, we have done it."  I told him no, it wasn't done.  He answered, "Yes, madame - they came yesterday."  Again, I said no - I hadn't seen anyone come to replace it.  He stepped away to phone someone to double check, and when he came back, he was clearly annoyed.  He said, "Madame, they delivered it to your next door neighbor's house by mistake."  I burst out laughing, and immediately turned to the boss's wife and said, "This is exactly what you can expect when you're here!  BUT - keep in mind - all of the other companies' employees have to refill the gas tanks themselves, so you really don't have it so bad!"

We made them dinner Thursday and Friday night (using the bbq that eventually got the gas refilled) and I think visiting with us made them see that it really is possible to be happy here.  We had tri-tip, salad, and bread pudding the first night.  The second night we had grilled mahi-mahi tacos (the fish that we caught a few weeks ago) with home made tortillas and salsa, with pineapple rice and garlic black beans.  Not bad for living in a place where food is such a challenge.

I'm sure this period of looking on the bright side will be challenged repeatedly, and I don't doubt that I will have plenty of moments of wishing desperately for home and family and friends.  I am, however, so very grateful that I'm able to see the blessings we have, and it really is a relief to not let small things get me riled up as much as they used to.

One more note - thanks for all the good thoughts for Molly.  Her bumps seem to be clearing up, and she's back to feeling great.  Now that it's done, I can tell you that I was really freaked out.  The same day she went to the doctor, she came home from school complaining of a headache and blurry vision in one eye.  Being a calm. level-headed mom, I immediately panicked and decided she had malaria or a brain tumor, or both.  I'm still not sure what was going on, but after some Tylenol and some rest, she was fine.  Maybe I'm not as laid-back as I had hoped!