Don't Cry Because It's over

The air shipment back to the U.S. is sorted with a post it to add to it in case there is more room...

 9 bags at 70 pounds each=630 pounds of luggage + 4 carry ons......thank goodness for business class on our way back!

As I was weighing and packing up the bags, I looked out the window and saw this...

 The man in the picture is turning this bent up iron re bar

 into perfectly straight re bar with his bare hands....

It occurred to me that when I move back, I won't see such unexpected things like this.  My heart feels heavy and there is a deep pit in my stomach, but if that man can do that with his bare hands, I can have the strength to say good bye this afternoon.  I just can't get over how much it feels like de ja vu to be packing up ...again.  Part of me keeps forgetting that this time it is "for good".  I keep feeling like I am only leaving for the summer and I'll be back in August...but this time that won't happen.  I am happy to go back to the U.S., but will miss many friends I made here dearly.  So, this is when I remind myself of a quote straight from the mouth of Dr. Seuss:

                              "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."

So, when the kids and I are boarding the bus today and saying our final farewells, I'll remind myself of this quote and know that I am only shedding tears because of the once in a lifetime opportunity we had to live here.  And, I will know that a smile will cross my face when I think about my time here.:)

500

This is my 500th post on this blog...I never thought I would stay with it so long...who knew I would love it so much!!! I thought we could look at a few pictures from when we first arrived....

Arriving in Lagos July 2009

Meeting Happiness for the first time!! July 2009

first beach trip August 2009

first day of school August 2009

And, now a few from just a few weeks ago......they have changed so much since we moved to Lagos...

Jeremy and his Teacher

It's funny, I heard once that people cry when you move here and they cry when it's time to go.  I didn't really understand that when I first came here. I didn't think I would ever get used to living here.  It took a few years, but I have felt so much more comfortable here this last year.  And, now as I type this with tears in my eyes, it is time to leave and I don't feel like it's time to go yet.   I feel like there is an aching pit in my stomach which I haven't been able to make go away for the last few weeks.  I am having the same feelings I had when I moved here, but in reverse.  I never expected to ever be happy here.  I never thought I would meet people I would truly care about.  I am mostly an all or nothing person.  I won't do things half way...if I'm in it...I'm in it.  I threw myself into the Beach Foundation and the kids schools, and I loved every minute of it.  I made new friends and I knew I would have to leave one day, but I didn't realize how much I would hurt inside.  I am happy that I'm going back "home", but somehow, I feel different now.  I know I am not exactly the same person I was when I left to move here three years ago.  I hope I don't forget what I have done and what I have seen while living here. I hope I was able to make some small difference here.  These past few weeks, I've been busy packing up bags and saying farewells...

Good bye to the Beach School Foundation...

The kids have had farewells....

 And so have we....

 I've met so many great people here who are hard working and they will always have a piece of my heart...

Daniel, me, Happiness and Josephine

I don't even know how I will say good bye to Happiness. (Please pray for me...I mean it...I really don't know how I will do that.)  We can't even look at each other these past two weeks and not cry.  How do you even begin to tell someone she saved you from the fear you had about coming here????  She is truly a special person with a beautiful spirit, and because of her, I will always be forever connected to Nigeria.  I will miss so many people I have met here dearly, but I will have them in my heart forever.  If you know me, I don't like change much.  I never have, but once I accept it, things usually are okay.  The only thing I know which is constant is change....nothing stays the same forever. The kids and I leave tomorrow, June 8 and Guy will follow later this summer. I have heard that with every ending comes a new beginning, and I hope you will join me as I adjust to my life back in the states right here on this blog.  Thank you so much for joining me on this amazing journey!!!!:) And to my friends on the other side of the ocean...I am coming home!!!!!!!

I Wish I Could Have Read this...

Here is a letter I wish I could have read before I moved here...

Dear Meredith,

Don't worry about feeling all alone in a new place because there are nice people all over the world, and most of how you will do in a  new place is based on your attitude.

Don't sell yourself short and think you can't leave things you know...you are stronger than you think.

Don't worry about losing friends from your home because your true friends will stick with you through it all even when they don't really understand why you left.

The power will go out, but consider yourself blessed that you have power at all when so many here don't have it at all.

You will never sit at a table and look at all the food the same way again.  You will see people starving and parents who have nothing to feed their children, and you will feel blessed for what you have.

You will have an amazing opportunity to meet people from all over the world and you will love it!!!  You think you won't because you will be far from home, but you will love it because it will open your eyes to things beyond your life in the U.S.  Put that knowledge in your mind and remember it for the rest of your life.  It is truly a wonderful opportunity for you!

Your children will learn acceptance and tolerance for people of other races and religions.  They will not identify someone by their skin color but by how they are treated.  Your son will learn to identify flags from all over the world.  Your daughter won't remember her home being anywhere but here.

You WILL be sad when the day comes that you have to leave, but love your stewardess anyway.  She will be your guide and your friend in this foreign land. It will hurt terribly to have to say goodbye but love her anyway and know she will always be in your heart.

You will have to leave all the wonderful people you meet here, but throw yourself into everything you feel passionate about even though you hate saying good bye to things you love.  Leave your "thumbprint" on things which are worthwhile.

Most importantly, remember to "see" the world on this adventure.  This is truly a wonderful experience for your entire family to see outside themselves and learn tolerance and acceptance for people all over the world.

I know you will worry and wonder if you will be able to live in Nigeria, but take the leap of faith that everything will be ok.  You are ready and you will have a wonderful experience!!!

                                                                                                      love,
                                                                                                    Yourself:)

Recent Developments

Last week, I wrote a post about a batik artist coming to Elizabeth's school.  Well, here is the finished product.:)  

 I think it turned out pretty cute.:) 
Today was the graduation ceremony for Lizzy's pre school....the kids did a great job!:)

But, unfortunately, she wasn't in any mood to stand still and smile for the camera...

 But, she was willing to make a quick pose in front of the back drop for the program.:)  Just wanted to fill you in on some recent developments.:)

In an Instant

Yesterday morning 15 people woke up and got dressed and went to church in Bauchi State, Nigeria.  It was something they probably did every Sunday.  And, while they were walking out of church talking with friends and visiting with loved ones, a car bomb exploded right outside the church and those 15 people lost their lives in that instant...

Yesterday afternoon while the kids and I were enjoying a great afternoon of fun with some friends from our compound, a Dana Air flight took off from Abuja headed to Lagos.  While my kids were laughing and having fun with their friends, over 150 people lost their lives in a plane crash right near the Lagos International Airport (which is on the mainland.  We live on Victoria Island a good distance away.).  Guy is in Port Harcourt and was watching CNN, and immediately tried to call me.  All the CNN report said was that the plane crashed into a building in a heavily populated area in Lagos.  Guy had no way of knowing what building it could be.  I never even heard the phone ring with his frantic phone calls while I was was laughing and having a good time with my friends.  Poor Guy, when I finally checked my phone I saw that I had missed three calls from him.  Needless to say, he was relieved to know we were safe.

The only thing which could make that crash even worse is that the plane crashed into a heavily populated residential area of Lagos where houses/shanties are built so close together it resembles a can of sardines.  There is no way to know how many people on the ground lost their lives or are injured.  What is known is that all people on the plane lost their lives, but it will probably be a while before there is any report of how many people lost their lives in their homes...

In a country where there is poverty and sadness all around most days, Nigeria did not deserve these acts.  But, things like these could happen anywhere at anytime.  We all need to remember that each day is a gift and there is never a guarantee of tomorrow for any of us.  The one thing we can do is love our loved ones right now at this moment.  All of our lives could change in an instant...

Fierce

Yesterday morning, I woke up to some thunder outside.  The thunder and rain quickly subsided and the sun was shining bright through the clouds.  After about forty five minutes, the sky turned dark again and the kids were a bit confused if it was night time again since they had woken up a little bit before.  Then, the rain and the wind started in, and the rain was blowing sideways.  I tried to capture it in the video to show you how quickly these storms can blow in from the ocean.  The ocean off the coast of Nigeria is such a beautiful thing, but it has a fierceness that nothing on this earth can rival....

Yellow Fever

When we moved to sub Saharan Africa, we knew we were coming to a place where we could be exposed to several different diseases and sicknesses.  The top ones being malaria, typhoid and yellow fever. When we moved here, we all had to get a series of vaccinations so we (hopefully) would never get any of these diseases.  Until yesterday, I didn't know there is  "yellow fever" that you really cannot avoid here in Lagos...

Fatai was driving me around the Falomo bridge roundabout trying to get on the bridge to head back to Victoria Island.  We were about four rows deep into chaotic traffic trying to find our way to the very narrow opening to enter the bridge when I heard a very loud banging sound on the back side of our car.  I thought it was an okada trying to weave in between the cars and misjudging his girth. When I looked over my shoulder, I saw a traffic police officer walking along the passenger side of the car.  My window remained rolled up....but I could hear him loud and clear.  At first he was yelling very loud in Yoruba...and I don't understand too much Yoruba, but his facial expressions and body language could clearly tell me he was very upset.  Then, he started yelling at Fatai in English that he didn't see him waving him to stop.  I looked around at all the chaotic traffic and thought this guy is really trying to control THIS????!!!!  Yeah, clearly he was having a bad day and then I kind of felt sorry for him...what a terrible job...standing in the crazy Lagos traffic and no one listening to you as buses zoom past your outstretched hand and okadas not minding any traffic rules.  I guess we were just the ones to get the brunt of his frustration.  And, as many altercations in Lagos end, the traffic officer stopped yelling and eventually waved us forward with a disgusted look on his face.

When I got home, I told Happiness about it.  She asked me if he was wearing an orange shirt. I said he was.  She told me I was just infected with Yellow Fever.  I said, "Yellow Fever??" and she said " Yes madame, Yellow Fever.  Those traffic police try to infect everyone with their yelling and arm waving."  I told her that was odd to call them yellow fever because their shirts are actually orange. She said that there was an Afro beat artist named FELA who coined the name yellow fever for the traffic police here in Lagos.  Happiness told me that since she was little that is what many Nigerians call these officers.  I found it a bit amusing that it took almost three years for me to be "infected" with yellow fever.  With all the craziness in this city, I would have thought it would have been sooner.:)