Home...well sort of

It is an 9 hr plane trip from Addis to London and an 8 hour plane trip from London to Chicago. After driving the final 3 hrs from Chicago to Hudsonville, we made it home on Saturday night at 5 PM. We were greeted by Mac and Bennett in the driveway. They were happy, healthy, and full of energy. We were happy, healthy, and a bit tired. None-the-less, we had a wonderful dinner and caught up briefly with Mom and Dad Lepard. They too were happy, healthy, and a bit tired. After dinner we played outside for a bit. It was an early night, I fell asleep with Bennett in his bed and Whitney with Macabe. It's good to be home...well sort off. If home is where the heart is...then I suppose we have two homes...for now.

Now I sit here Sunday morning, awake after 10 hrs of sleep. A great 10 hrs of sleep! I'm compelled to think about how I prioritize. So quickly upon our return I was greeted by many of the things here that matter, that don't hardly exist in Ethiopia.

As an example, when I turned on my phone in Chicago, I was greeted by 3 straight minutes of audible chimes notifying me of text messages and emails that had come in from the prior week. I was disconnected from most electronic communication for the better part of the week. So much of my job depends on this. It will be a tough week, catching up...

As we pulled into the driveway, it was apparent that Michigan was the recipient of unseasonably warm weather and though we left in the winter, we have returned in the spring. The lawn is covered with clover and weeds. The planting beds are green with weeds. My first thought, "The lawn needs to be mowed, I need to do some seasonal maintenance on the lawnmower, I've missed the window to apply crabgrass preventer, it's going to take me hours to weed the planting beds, I have a lot of clover in my yard, I didn't get to trim the bushes and now they have budded, I was going to finish staining the deck before the grape vines leafed out and they have buds, I'm gone next weekend, when will all this get done?..." All of it...it's not that important...but it is...now my mental battles will begin.

But how will my neighbors view me? Am I "rich" or "poor"? Why do I care? Because I am American, living in the United States and this is our culture. A culture of excess that quickly displaces joy and gratitude. A culture coveted by many of those who do not have it. A culture I am proud of and now embarassed by.

For now...I will go see how much a goat costs. After all, I have plenty of water and greenery to feed and sustain.