The past 72 hours are a blur
There was the sadness felt as we left the Insiza Area Development Program (ADP) for the last time. It’s almost assured that I’ll never go back there.
There was the quick goodbye to the Woodland Inn, the bed & breakfast we called home Monday through Thursday.
There was the elation of checking in at the Holiday Inn Bulawayo with such luxuries as big, clean beds, scolding hot showers, and wireless internet.
There was the feeling of closure as we had a final team dinner at Arizona, a mexican restaurant a million miles from Mexico.
And then there was the travel.
Airports.
Lines.
Planes.
Layovers.
Passport and customs checks.
Headaches, upset stomach, incessant coughing.
Medicines for headaches, stomach issues, and incessant coughing.
Saying goodbye to our team in J-burg as we pealed off in three directions. (Amos went home to South Korea via Hong Kong, half the team went home via Washington, D.C., and the rest of us went back through New York.)
The giddy pleasure of a half-full plane for a long haul flight. I had 3 seats to lay down in for a 16.5 hour flight, sleeping at least 9 hours overall. Then I had an empty middle seat for my flight to LA… more luxury.
Movies. I watched 4 movies on the way home. I also read half a book.
The agony of being delayed in Los Angeles. 23,400 miles with no delays but a broken plane for the last 100 mile flight to San Diego. Pure torture.
Reuniting with Kristen, Megan, Paul, and Jackson. Oh man. That was sweet.
Sleeping it off. I crashed from 4 PM – 8 PM. Then managed to stay awake from 8 PM – 9 PM with the kids before crashing from 9 PM – 5 AM.
The Draw Home
Over my 37 hour journey home I felt a magnetic pull home.
Get home. Home, home, HOME.
I was exhausted. Sore. Sick. Impatient. Emotional. Driven.
Anyone who has been on a long trip recognizes this concoction. You just want to be home.
Out of the Blur
Over the next day or so I need to round a corner.
I need to get out of the blur and back to reality.
I have to somehow force myself back to work tomorrow. This morning I opened up my inbox and started filtering and prioritizing what needs to get done. I actually had this tiny bit of dread when I signed into Gmail… and was greatly relieved when it wasn’t that bad.
At the same time Open Boston is in 10 days and I have a lot to do. And we have 2 books releasing which require my attention. And I’ve got a million website things to work through. (It’s better not to think about that, right?)
But I also have to allow myself time to process the trip. Otherwise 9 days, 23,500 miles of air travel, and the tireless work of the World Vision staff is worthless.
I need to ask myself… How can I advocate for the work I’ve seen? What needs to change in my life? What are things I learned in Zimbabwe that I can apply here in San Diego? How can I champion the work I saw? How can I stay involved? On and on…
So that’s my challenge today. Out of the blur and into reality.
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