My husband has the day off. I don't but that is okay. I actually don't mind at all. My husband is an introvert who lives in a world of extroverts. Do introverts even exist in Ethiopia? Well actually I have seen them. They are the men who quietly head off to the bush with their bows and arrows with their 3 dogs. They are the women who grind grain at the back of a dark hut or head off to the well while men, women and children flow in and out of their space from sunrise to sunset.
But my husband doesn't get to head off to the bush on his own because someone would want to accompany him. He doesn't get to find a quiet corner in our house because there is rarely a quiet corner. And at the end of the day, he sacrifices an hour of quiet to listen to me share about my world.
So, today, is his day. I filled up our first day in Addis with appointments, shopping and an evening with friends but I made a promise. Saturday he gets the day off.
I thought I slept in this morning and was worried, he was quietly sacrificing his time so that I could get sleep. The clock was broken in our apartment. It wasn't 9am....it was 7:30am. And he was ready to go!
The two advantages to staying at the CMF guesthouse or the SIM guesthouse is that we get space. #1 Inside space: a full apartment with 3 bedrooms, a bathroom and a kitchen. #2 outside space miles of mountains and valleys to run through and explore. Space for our kids to play without getting backed into by a car. A trampoline, a sandbox, green grass and a playroom.
Living in the bush is our life and we love it but it does mean when we arrive in the city of Addis Ababa which has between 4 and 9 million people (the official stats are old so no one really seems to know), we feel like we are suffocating. Living at the SIM guesthouse means living in the centre of this city and the noise is constant, people everywhere and 5 kids in a parking lot with constant moving vehicles coming and going is frightening. Our kids know what to do with scorpions but they don't really know what to do with cars.
My husband will do a little running, climb a mountain or two, pray, think, maybe even write, have his picnic lunch which he packed himself and arrive back when the sun starts descending (he didn't bring his phone or his watch and I am glad). And I realized yesterday when I offered the gift of solitude that it has been needed for a long time and I fully plan on giving him this gift again...soon.
But my husband doesn't get to head off to the bush on his own because someone would want to accompany him. He doesn't get to find a quiet corner in our house because there is rarely a quiet corner. And at the end of the day, he sacrifices an hour of quiet to listen to me share about my world.
So, today, is his day. I filled up our first day in Addis with appointments, shopping and an evening with friends but I made a promise. Saturday he gets the day off.
I thought I slept in this morning and was worried, he was quietly sacrificing his time so that I could get sleep. The clock was broken in our apartment. It wasn't 9am....it was 7:30am. And he was ready to go!
The two advantages to staying at the CMF guesthouse or the SIM guesthouse is that we get space. #1 Inside space: a full apartment with 3 bedrooms, a bathroom and a kitchen. #2 outside space miles of mountains and valleys to run through and explore. Space for our kids to play without getting backed into by a car. A trampoline, a sandbox, green grass and a playroom.
Living in the bush is our life and we love it but it does mean when we arrive in the city of Addis Ababa which has between 4 and 9 million people (the official stats are old so no one really seems to know), we feel like we are suffocating. Living at the SIM guesthouse means living in the centre of this city and the noise is constant, people everywhere and 5 kids in a parking lot with constant moving vehicles coming and going is frightening. Our kids know what to do with scorpions but they don't really know what to do with cars.
My husband will do a little running, climb a mountain or two, pray, think, maybe even write, have his picnic lunch which he packed himself and arrive back when the sun starts descending (he didn't bring his phone or his watch and I am glad). And I realized yesterday when I offered the gift of solitude that it has been needed for a long time and I fully plan on giving him this gift again...soon.
SO glad that Rolf was able to have this time to himself...and hopefully he'll get another one soon and you will, too! Even extroverts need to 're-charge' from time to time, don't they?
ReplyDeletePlus I do hope you will be able to have a 'proper date night' with Rolf while we are out there as well.
Love all of you and see you soon! Mom