Full Circle - 365

Today marks a full year since I came (in) to America and my! has it been an interesting year.
I have done things I never imagined I would do, been places I never imagined I would go, met people I never imagined I would meet. I have laughed till my ribs ached, cried like a baby, been so afraid I trembled, felt so confident I could take on the world, been so excited I've made a fool of my self, embarrassed ...name it I have been through it all.
When I was leaving UG for some weird reason I thought I would come back and find things the way I left them. I thought my friends would still be as close, I would get back to work and continue from where I left off, you know, kind of thinking that everything would stand still till I got back. But no, life happens, people move on.
Heck, so much has happened in my life I'm not exactly the same person as when I left UG, don't know why I would think other things wouldn't change.
Yeah, I have tried to keep my relationships going but it's not the same, it can not be the same. So what have I decided to do?, enjoy each moment as it comes, with whomever I am with and in what ever situation, life is too short to put on the pause button.

I've experienced all the seasons of the year, Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall, they kind of remind me of the different phases of life, the happy, sad, excited, low, expectant periods we all go through. You can't be sad all the time, or excited all the time, sometimes things are not all that so you experience other emotions and that's what makes life.
I wish I could break down my time here for you but that would take a book, it's been like a whole life time of it's own.
Leaving UG I thought, there is just no way I'm going to sit home, I've got to work I've got to earn my own money, nah!! God had something else coming, I have been home since.
I thought, there is just no way I can spend all my days, every single hour of every single day looking after Mich, some one will get hurt, nah!!God had something else coming, we have had the richest of relationships. I wouldn't trade this for anything, it's wonderful to be there every step of Mich's growing years.
You would think I was getting the point right?, then I thought, OK, that is enough, there is just no way I'm going to live in this strange land without Sam, nah!! God had ... . Sam got an internship offer in consulting and he is away literally all week, gets back on Thursday night and is out again on Monday. Fancy that in a new city where I hardly know any one, but it's worked out just fine.
Bottom line, I have learned not to put limits on my self because it's amazing what one can do when faced with challenge.
I have learned so much in this one year I can't begin to explain, the exposure, the situations, the beauty of this land and it's people, it's simply amazing. I would not change anything especially because God has been in the center of it all.

I like the availability of material, one can go to the lib, read and borrow books, tapes and CD's and not pay a single coin. My concern now though is that what is rated PG would pass for an "R" rated movie in my day.
Toys and play things for children are in plenty, children get off to a good start. Even then I'm grateful I came here later in life, something about growing up in UG helps me keep my head on my shoulders. Thank God for UTV, opened at 6pm and we had one or two kids programs after which there was news and people had to do home work, take a bath and have supper (which ever the order). Then I hoped the TV announcer would not come on just before the one other nice program for the week because in most cases he/she was telling the "dear viewers" that due to unavoidable circumstances the program would not air. Now the options are endless, DVDs', video games, computer whatevers, how did we manage?
Then there is the food, it's amazing that you can get almost anything here you just need to know where to look. Two problems though, there is the word "calories" that hangs over peoples heads like a real burden. Secondly I don't appreciate foods that are said to be "organic or light" like "organic bananas", "light butter", what is that?! can't I just have a plain old banana without thinking about its ingredients?
I hope I will not have the same experience when I go to Nakasero market (if it's still there), and get asked if I want organic Matooke or light blue-band, people!

What I'm really trying to say is, we are in Dallas and Sam ends his internship in about 3 weeks, after that we head back to Philadelphia for his second year of study and God willing he graduates in May.
Oh yes and Mich gets to start preschool this September, now that is exciting, don't ask me any other questions I know what some of you are thinking.