the playlist...

We sit, and I wait for him to choose a show. Oh look what's on again?! I just laugh... because he has faithfully chosen this pilot episode of Zoe's Extraordinary Playlist every time he scrolls through. There is something about it that connected with his heart... so much so that it has played five or six times on our t.v., as he impatiently waits for the series to begin {Feb. 16th} Maybe it's the flash mob dancing, or perhaps just the music...
: :
Bumping along the winding, dusty roads of Africa, songs popped into my head and became a part of my day, and a lasting addition to my memories. My African playlist. I have carried it home, in my heart...

Sun's coming up... 
This bird squwaked his good morning song while we admired our first sunrise of the safari. Good morning Amboseli National Park.

I wonder where the lions are...
With rumor of lions, we circled 'round and back... stared, and tried to make clumps of golden grass into the sight we sought. We never did see any that first morning, but later in the trip we were reward plenty!

 There are places I remember...
Eight years and a world apart, and the memories of my heart didn't betray me. On that first trip, I made a desperate effort to imprint this place in my mind. I could feel the familiarity of a road, a river, a tree... it was a feeling of relief, that my memories were not just a dream.

I saw the sign...
I probably did not capture all the signs I wanted to, traveling quickly over bumpy roads. But these...they made me smile.

 

Walkin' along singin' a song...
The wildlife meanders through the trees, along the plains. Coming up towards the start of the migration, zebra & wildebeest were headed to the rivers. In Tarangire, the elephants headed to the water...

Gary Gnu coming right at you...
Did you ever watch the New Zoo Revue? It was one of my favorites... Henrietta Hippo, Freddie the Frog... and Gary Gnu {who, of course, did the news...} I could watch the wildebeest all day. While we didn't witness THE migration, we saw the early stages, which was so special to me!

Here comes the sun...
Sunrise in Africa? As beautiful as any sunrise or sunset over the ocean. The colors of the earth come alive right before your eyes.

Just around the riverbend...

Same river, different bend. When we returned to camp in the evening, we chased the sunset, and the baboons played in the shallows.

Hills and vallies...
Up and down, over head and along the rim. This part of the world is so magnificent... and God is Lord of all. 

 

on my mind...

Africa is never far from my mind... but I can hardly believe that I haven't written the stories. Our trip last summer was so fantastic - and it deserves to be documented. The beauty, the emotions... all of it. I have begun putting the pictures together, and I need to put the words down before the details and the moments escape me. It's coming. For now though...

photos from 2010 & 2018

I need Africa to remind me that beauty has many faces

and that giving has many hands.

-Annie Downs

what i will hold on to...

Though the memories play through my head and heart, I haven't actually recorded some of the most special moments of the past year. Not writing them down, preserving them in a tangible way, is risky. I don't want to forget... I don't want to lose them in the mess of today {and the todays to come.}

Sometimes I have stood still, closed my eyes, and tried to imprint a memory on my heart, so that I purposefully take the time to revel in the moment... but there are so many other beautiful things that I rush through, not taking the time to drink them in fully, and they are lost in the busyness of ordinary days.

There was a lot of joy tucked in amongst the days of 2018, and feeling great was definitely a highlight, and perhaps too long overdue. It made everything brighter, and easier... and I celebrated it along the way. And on December 11th, on the first anniversary of my life changing successful surgery, I texted my brilliant doctor to thank him. He thanked us right back... for having faith in him, and for showing such patience. I think he can be a humble man, or perhaps the fact that he could not fix my urology problem made him humble. But he kept on researching, and took a chance with something new that he put his own twist on...and it worked. So I celebrate being able to pee... and the freedom that it has brought me in my mind.

This summer I felt free going to Africa, leaving behind the worry and fear.{I think Eric took them on, afraid that I might all of a sudden have a health issue...} I was so happy in Africa, feeling so much joy at our return to the place I fell in love with, afraid that I would never journey back to. I have yet to document the trip, and I'm pressing it on my heart to start soon... because there are incredible experiences to recall and share. Perhaps one of the most awe inspiring moments was when the elephants crossed the road. It was a trip of elephants, and they crossed the roads around us several times... but one morning we watched them gather on the plains, then circled back a while later to see that many more had joined them. And all of a sudden, as if they nodded to each other in agreement, they meandered to the road, and more than ninety elephants crossed before us and behind us. I could have rushed a thousand pictures then and there...but I chose to stop, breathe, and make sure to enjoy the extraordinary moment.

One of my big dreams of last year was to go to Iowa (yes, Iowa!) and see my son play the steel drums in person. I am ever thankful that YouTube can bring him into my living room, but something in me said I had to be there in person. When Camden gave us the concert date we figured out a way to make it happen, and a few days after Thanksgiving we made our way to Iowa. The concert was the main attraction for me... but the traveling and spending time with Eric gave me a joy all of its own. I just felt lucky to be there, grateful to have those days apart from the rest of real life. I knew Cam wouldn't have a lot of free time, so we would have to make our own fun...and we did. Those days have a glow about them in my memory... and I love that. And of course, the concert was fantastic - and when the professor announced that it was Camden's last, the emotions spilled over. I remembered how he didn't want to even try drumming in college, and how once he tried it out, at a new friend's urging, he fell in love with those pans. And I especially remember him telling me that his goal was to make it to the top steel band by his senior year... and he did. He has made a lot of things happen for himself in Iowa...

 Take time to remember... the grand moments and the small. They make us who we are, and help us to dream up the next adventure.
 

the traveler {part 2}

Technology let me follow them there... and, though it was more glitchy, back. When I saw that they had finally landed back in Miami, I could half-way breathe. {The news and happenings in the air while they were away did not make for calm.}  But I knew, in order to fully breathe, I needed to see his face.  I count myself thankful for a husband who loves me through my crazy... my eyes could not be distracted from the road beyond the living room window.  Though he convinced me to play a round of rummy, I only concentrated enough to trounce he & Laura so I could go back to watching for the car.  Three plus hours later, excitement took over all anxiety when I saw their car cross the bridge, headed home.  I danced {and jumped and waved} on the sidewalk as they made their way down the street and into the drive.

They were weary, but smiling. And before we headed to our own home, we heard a collection of stories, and how amazing our son was. Yes, we know... but isn't it nice to hear from someone else? And home again, willing his eyes awake, he un-buried the treasures he had carefully packed away. A hat and a carved rhino for dad, a cheetah for his sister, and for me... the bumper sticker I had asked him to look for, along with beads from Shanga. He is a good boy.  The best.

Several people have asked him for the best part of this trip, and he simply cannot answer.  There was no best part, it was all amazing. His face lights up when he talks about bartering with locals for necklaces.  These salesmen are relentless, and they are serious about their necklaces.  The price starts at $10, but if you are really persistent like Grampa, you might be able to get 10 for $10.

note who is in control of the money...

and he said his favorite meal was the bush breakfast, eaten out on safari.  I don't know if it was the best food, but he loved the experience.

There was grand excitement over seeing three rhinos quite close to their vehicle, and also... for the opportunity to go back to Shanga. He assured me that it was just as beautiful, and shared all the new things they are doing there.

Africa through his eyes?

at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust

feeding the giraffes

the plane that took them to the maasai mara

on safari

He uploaded the photos to his computer, and I can tell, he is proud of them.  I was delighted to sit and have him share the stories with the photos... see the light in his eyes, hear the wonder and joy in his words.  Four years in a teenage life is almost endless... in that time he, and his view of the world, has grown.  I am so thankful that his journeys to Africa have helped to shape that view.

beyond...

We often play the what was your favorite part? game after a movie or a vacation, but if you asked Cam to pick a favorite part of his Africa trip, he couldn't.  He stumbles over his words and finally just says It was all the best. But this photo documents one of his many favorites.  I am a rule follower, through and through, and I didn't raise a rule breaker but... he does have a really quirky sense of humor.  When I saw this photo, I just nodded and laughed.  It is just like him to push the envelope just a little and get a kick out it.

This sign makes me think, though.  How many times have I drawn my own line in the sand, or decided how far I can really go before I even tried?  My comfort zone is small, and I tell myself that I don't want to grow, I am done learning. I could be happy here forever, this place is good. But this spring, something in me {maybe the Holy Spirit} grabbed me by the heart and pulled me out into the unknown.  Past the I can't and the I don't want to to the maybe you can.  Sometimes it just takes a little courage to tip toe over the line... and where you go from there?  The possibilities are endless. {But if you are in Africa, please make sure there are no hungry lions beyond this point before you make your move!}


P.S. His two weeks on the other side of the world were amazing.
More photos and stories coming soon.