The journey part 3: jetlag and repacking

So we landed and it was morning and I foolishly thought if we could keep our bodies awake until evening, we would sleep through the night and wake in the morning. Jetlag should be a breeze. But it never is and there were no real surprises. It took 8 days. One day for each hour of time change. Some of the kids made it through sooner.

But there were blessings in the jetlag that I hadn't really appreciated in the past. Instead of wishing my circumstances were different, I chose to embrace the experience. Middle of the night storytelling and snacks with the little ones and early morning devotions. Time in the Word in the wee hours of the night when all were asleep. These were gifts. Brief gifts to be endured or enjoyed for only a brief time. And THIS made them sweet.

The packing continued. The boxes and trunks brought from our homeland now had to be reduced by one third. More hours looking at stuff and wondering why I thought bringing all this stuff was a good thing. Surely we could live with fewer possessions. So why then was it so hard to decide what to leave behind?

I must admit to hitting a point of despair when my husband graciously informed me that I needed to reduce the number of trunks from 8 to 6. Really? I can't do it. Physically I could, emotionally I was finished. Finished looking through stuff and making decisions about what was most important. I am not the kind of person that enjoys spending hours in the house. I enjoy people so it was time to do something else.

Time in the sunshine and time playing soccer. Fun with chattering children. Chatting with the neighbours. Smells of cookies baking and pizza making. Okay. I am ready.

And I did it. Everything that I deemed necessary for the next two months found a place in the landcruiser and honestly, we could do with less. For two months, we will savor the treats from home like bacon bits, chocolate chips and taco seasoning. Children will read books and then read them again. We will ration the sugar, ground beef, cheese, vegetables and eggs purchased in Addis. We will share what we have with others and we will know. We could live with a lot less.