Saturday, October 30, 2010

Writer's Block

There is a lot going on on Brown City Rd as always. BUT I seem to have a huge writer's block. Some of it is that I have been in this "Can't find the forest for the trees" place for many months. Some of it is that I was legitimately overwhelmed. However, slowly but surely I am finding my way. I am figuring out who I am now that I am a mother of adult children and not a caretaker of two very active geriatric folks. So I have had more contemplative time at my disposal. Considering I haven't had that luxury in 25 years, it was a bit of an adjustment.
This adjustment has been pretty stressful, especially with Matt going through his own hell, but with each thing on the to do list checked off I am feeling a bit lighter and I think he is too.

AND.....God has a way of not letting a person get too complacent. So just as my parenting of my birth kids has ended (I am still Mom and moms always "mom" though) and care taking the first set of old folks has ended, others who need love and guidance have entered the picture or are getting more attention (Africa) and the next set of old folks are beginning to need extra care. The good thing is this time there are other siblings to help carry the load.

So, I continue to sort, mail, talk by e-mail and phone and live life and slowly but surely I have found my path and the way out of the forest.

Next, I hope to find my witty writing style that was so entertaining for us all in earlier blog posts. I am assuming it is hanging on a tree branch some patiently waiting for me to grab it as I walk by.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Update This Week

Well, I am still stranded, but busy as ever. In a way, this little road block was actually good. I am able to focus completely on Burkina now except for the usual stuff so when I finally get there it will be a well planned and very enjoyable visit.
My only phobia is flying over the Atlantic in early January.
So here is my update:
1. Kassoum, Rakieta's brother, is trying to figure out where to go with his future. Hard work trying to figure things out across the ocean, language barrier and cultural differences, but we will persevere.
2. Tutoring is finally settling down to a dull roar. I will be so glad when we get new folks in Lansing next week and people start doing logical things in every way, but this educational mess needs help ASAP.
3. G & G J seem to be settling in to their winter home with my sister in Fla just fine.
4. Finally getting a handle on the stuff for Africa, some of which has taken over the upstairs hall and made it an unruly mess.
5. Patterns getting sorted, costumes getting sorted, educational stuff getting sorted. I am just a sorting fool at the moment.
6.Been a great dance year so far. Lots of old and dear relationships back in our lives.
7.Clinic in Ouagadougou is finally getting all the donated prosthetic supplies donated to me. It cost an arm and a leg to mail, but they are ecstatic and it has made life very good for Rakieta. They really treat her well.
Now back over to Flint to beg for more.
8. I Love it that my horses have the system down to a fine science. No chasing, arguing, etc. Everyone just does their routine like a well written ballet.
That is about it for today.
Have a great one everyone!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

French Demonstrations and Rioting!

Ok, so I am grounded. The French are in a heated dispute over changing their social security benefits from age 60 to 62. It has gone from heated debate to demonstrations, rioting, cutting off of services and some violence. Airlines are down.
All that means I sit here in the good ol' US of A because if I am going to be stranded , I would much rather be here than Paris at the airport.
So.....if I don't get out of here soon, I have to wait until early January because that is when the show is over and our family has quiet time once again.
The upside is that my panic over not being ready is dissipating. I am getting much needed time to get very prepared at this point.
This is one of those "you can't unride a bike" situations. It is excrutiatingly difficult to deal with, but once it is done, the knowlege gained makes upcoming problems very small.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Life

I love my life!
It is hectic!
It is busy, so busy I can't even think some days. But it is always interesting and full of love and happiness.
Life is not about how rich you are (although in America, having enough money to be comfortable is a good thing), it is not about how much stuff you accumulate, it is all about relationships and loving, happy experiences.
My tutored kids have had a great week. Little by little we are conquering the overwhelming homework monsters. The schools around here are handing out an astronomical, overwhelming amount of homework and it is mostly causing chaos, ulcers and very confused kids. You can't push concepts at kids that are not developmentally ready for it in the hopes that more information sooner will make smarter kids. No, all Granholm's edicts are doing is creating very stressed, confused kids who are getting glassy eyed and not caring about the process. This is one of those things that in theory sounded good, but in practice, especially in the smaller schools, it is a huge public school mess.......Again.
Just Dance rocks! The kids are awesome as always and our families, new and old are excellent and make me love what I do. I am looking forward to the Christmas show.
As always I love living in the thumb of Michigan! I love being rural and love the values and personalities I deal with every day. People here may not be the fanciest, sophisticated, or wealthy but they sure have good hearts.
Little by little I am getting myself ready for my big trip. I feel like I am not seeing the progress I want, but each morning feels a little more right. Last time I went the week after the show and that was just too much. I have so much thinking to do once there I need to be in great shape mentally and physically (Good health is important, but I am thinking more about resources for this situation.) Temps are still in the 90's there most days and NO AIR CONDITIONING in most places.
Kassoum is going to get Rakieta's family 4 plastic chairs so when I get there there will be more chairs. That will help a lot.
Well, the morning is flying by and I need to get moving. Have a good day all.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Calgon, Take me Away!

I need extra hands, fingers and legs. I feel like I just can never get everything done in a timely manner and get to Africa and back before things get too busy for the show.
Yet, I know things are coming along. So I am probably being too hard on myself (as usual) and in a few days the ticket will be ordered on schedule and I will actually leave with my suitcases and mind in a good place.
Make no mistake, traveling overseas is a whole lot more difficult than it once was. Last time my bags were checked at least 3 times on the way over and we were herded through extra security on the way back. When our family first became involved in mission work, we used to send everything including the kitchen sink back with them in simple duffel bags. Not so today.
But by far the worst of the stress and worry comes from trying to get organized for all the work we need to do once I arrive.
Mail takes 3 weeks or so, ATM's do not exist, Shampoo and toilet paper are not easily picked up at the corner store. I think I am making my point.
And I have to get a lot accomplished by American standards.............and Africa just does not like to work at the same pace so it is really important that I get it right before I go because after the long flight and numerous expenses to not be able to get things accomplished would be very disappointing for everyone.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Chickens Running Amuck.

Saturday was a miserable, cold, dreary day. It also happened to be a day that Matt and I were at a wedding open house for a friend from Matt's work. So we were gone for many hours and I never bothered to open the coop since it was so wretched out side. I went in to do evening chores rather late and to my chagrin I found a new baby running around shrieking at the top of his lungs. GREAT......Now I had to try to figure out who it belonged to and look for more. All the chickens were now eating and so he really did look abandoned.
I quickly put him in a container and waited for Mama to begin her clucking to him. Shortly I was able to figure out the mother.
She was a young one who had been dutifully sitting on her clutch and I thought she would be very successful. However the last week other hens were laying on top of her eggs and she wasn't roosting so I figured I needed to clean out the nest. Another thing on my long list of to do's.
I went over to the nest and began to clean it out. Everything was ice cold. Not a good sign. Unfortunately as I cleaned I found 3 other chicks cold and wet who had not survived. From this I surmised that the little trouble maker who was still shrieking very loudly had jumped out of the nest and she had followed forgetting the rest of her babies.
I collected the eggs, the baby, and the mom and headed into the warm kitchen.
I was deciding what to do with my problems when I began to hear tapping and chirping. So upon closer inspection while sorting I separated about 10 eggs that looked like thay might still have a chance. As of yesterday we had 6 babies and one casualty. That is pretty amazing and a testament to the will to survie and God's miracle of life.
Now to just figure out where to keep these little buggers until they can go outside.

Burkina News

Well, my old and dear friend Dr. Ogboh, has come to the rescue once again. His practice is in Brown City, a little burg just to the north of us. I went to get my prescriptions for my upcoming trip to Burkina and as always, he was extremely interested in Rakieta and her fate.
He is from Ghana and was very helpful when she was here living with us. He gave me sage advice, as always, and also is going to work with us to help set up a holiday in Ghana so that Rakieta can have a visit with everyone. That is very uplifting news. You see the Burkinabe people only need their national ID to go to Ghana or a passport to fly there. It is only about 150 miles from Ouagadougou to the coast of Ghana but the roads are very poor so it is a long ride by bus. But they are used to that and time moving much slower so the bus ride is very doable for the family.
It is much easier and less expensive for us to fly to Ghana than Burkina and it is an English speaking country. A huge +++++++.
Not to mention it has beaches since it is on the coast. This may take a long time to get all planned out, BUT it will be a wonderful experience to be able to have both families together at once and the experience of a lifetime for all of us, but especially them.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Africa Update

Well, I still don't have the entire story, BUT It may have been that the visa lottery winner, rather than a possible victim of fraud, may have been a bit of a scammer after all. He has disappeared to Ghana and I am told that the sewing school money was stolen and fingers are pointing to him.
God only knows on this one.................
All the boxes have made it to Africa. I have a doctors appt tomorrow for my meds for my trip. So....now it is time to get my ticket.
The Tapsoba clan appears to be quiet and low stress for now.

Fabulous Sunday!

Today has been a wonderful, wonderful day!
To begin with, the entire family was at Mass and we got out the door on time. Matt likes the new priest at the church in town and when Matt is happy, it makes everyone else less stressed out. We got out early enough to get breakfast in town and still had time to ride and get other things done. So this is our new ritual and getting new rituals established is always the struggle as things and families change-getting into a new groove. But now that is taken care of.
We got home early enough to get chores done and still be ready to ride at the right time. Brandon, one of my tutored and horse kids, came over to spend the day so I took him on a short ride on Ellie Mae. Even though she is the youngest and still a little untrustworthy, when it comes to taking kids on a ride with me by her side, she is stellar. Then us big guys went on a beautiful, picturesque ride. Towards the end the wind picked up, but all in all, it was a wonderful ride.
While we were riding, Brandon and Mr. Matt worked on the studio. Brandon had to patch Mr. Matt up because he sliced his finger. Brandon thought that was pretty cool. Now the 2 guys and Jeni are off on a road trip looking at a small bike for Jeni for work. Brandon is a "hands on" kind of kid so this has been a really good day for him too.
Now I am off to begin getting dinner in the oven. The heater is on in the den so sadly, we have to accept fall is truly here.