Friday, May 7, 2010

Ninakupenda, Kenya

I am crazy-out-of-my-mind jealous that the Pops (aka, Dad/Randy) is in Nairobi right now. He’s on a three to six month assignment for the big conglomerate. (Yes—the Pops and I work for the same mega company.)

Not only does it sound like a cool adventure, but…I’ve actually been to Nairobi. Believe it or not, that’s where the Hubs and I honeymooned. We safaried in Kenya, stayed on the beach in Zanzibar, off the coast of Tanzania, and throughout the trip, Nairobi was our home base.

I. Love. Africa. I can barley see because of my envy.

Though I am jealous squared, I’m also immensely proud of both of my Pops and Mom from going through with this crazy assignment.

What? I’m raging with hormones. I can, will, and do swing from one side of the emotional spectrum to the other. Sue me.

Anyway, I know this can’t be easy for them:
  • The Pops is halfway around the globe in a glorious third world country; Mom is in Ohio which isn’t exactly where she’d like to be.
  • Internet connections don’t always work in Africa. Same goes for television, electricity, hot water and all recognizable traffic laws.
  • They will have no physical contact with their spouse for a long while. (And that, dear (two) readers, is as far as I can go with that without getting a mental picture.)
But, whether they see it at the moment or not, they are having this adventure together, on two different continents. Sufficed to say, I am proud of them as individuals and as a couple.

I know I can’t make the days easier or the hours go by faster, but I can share this quote from a woman who deeply and truly loved Kenya that may help a twinge:

    “When you have a great and difficult task, something perhaps almost impossible, if you only work a little at a time, every day a little, suddenly the work will finish itself.”

    —Baroness Karen Blixen, Danish writer known for Out of Africa. Karen’s home is preserved and now a museum in the foothills of the Ngong (Knuckle) Hills in Nairobi. The Hubs and I visited there on our honeymoon. The house, and this quote, kick ass.
Well said, Baroness. Asante sana.