Dear ECS,
“When you fart in the bath, it makes bubbles.” Yep.
Welcome home honey, I have missed you very much. You too Mu.
Elle and Mu spent about three weeks in DC. They returned to Addis this weekend--making it a wonderful
one. Out of my character we have spent basically the entire time at home
relaxing, seeing friends, and trying to get over jet lag. But life doesn’t always have to be
go-go-go Getting over a 14 hour flight
direct from DC is tough for us adults, much less for a wonderful three year old
who loves to watch tv on planes (just like your dad).
So here we are on Sunday even, with the fire going, rain
pummeling outside the house while we are all cozy inside. We had
a lovely euro style lingering lunch on our patio, and last night had a BBQ with so
many dear friends, welcoming you home.
The weekend has been more idyllic than I imagined when I was looking
forward to having you and mom home. The
challenge of having your family apart once you have a child is larger than I
could have forecast. As I have written
about on this blog, it feels like a part of me is absent when you are traveling
– like my imaginary third arm has gone missing with a dull ache.
One of the reasons I have missed you so much is the leaps
and bounds you are making seemingly on a daily basis. The development is happening mentally,
verbally, emotionally and physically. On
the last point, it is fun seeing you bounce around with more confidence in
every step and less self conscious about making a misstep. Also cool to see how you are able to recover
when getting knocked off center, having the dexterity to right yourself on the
fly. And the physical maturation is
dwarfed by the progress you are making as a human – being kind, sharing and
connecting. Your vocab and syntax
continues to explode, for instance the very accurate, and adorable, fact that
when you fart in the bath, you make bubbles.
Seeing you on FaceTime being so happy with your mom, with my
parents, with our friends makes it easier to deal with the absence. Connectivity and technology has made it so
much easier to deal with being apart, it bridges the gap of thousands of miles,
oceans, and continents and I am so thankful to live in this modern era of
connectivity. It is hard to imagine
being apart for longer periods without the technology, granting that the very
fact that you and mom can go to DC for a causal 3 weeks is based on the very
fact of the tech enabled system of international air travel. And to be
truthful, I was able to sneak in some travel with buddies inside Ethiopia and
to Ireland, which also helped the time apart go faster.
Adwa, Tigray
A buddy has been developing a new climbing crag up in
northern Tigray, near the city of Adwa, which was home to a decisive and
historic battele between the Ethiopians and Italians in 1898. This battle preserved Ethiopian sovereignty and
is celebrated widely in Ethiopia as a crowning achievement for wider African nationalism
and autonomy in repelling a colony power.
The terrain in this part of the world is stunning, big red and orange
cliffs rising out of dry, mildly undulating terrain. The climbing was good, until I pulled off a
rock seconding my buddy’s first ascent and took a nasty fall. Thankfully, I am fine and just suffered some
cuts and bruise. No more climbing for
us, but we did hike to the top of a mountain that dominates the town of Adwa,
with stunning vistas, and purportedly several Italian graves from 1898.
Dublin
I also took advantage of the long holiday weekend (happy
anniversary babe) and snuck to Dublin to meet up with a buddy who lives in
London. Having never been to Ireland, I was
really excited for the trip. And it was
awesome. Lots of great times hanging out
with Ian, eating and drinking our way around Dublin. On my last day, before the red eye home to
Addis, I went out on the water on a cruise to ports just south and north of the
main city. It felt like Maine at points,
which was a fun recall of all the time sailing of the New England coast. And I got to go on a hike in Howth, to the
north of the central part of the city, on these expansive green hills with
steep cutaways to the ocean. It felt
like the best parts of the coast in north Marin, just north of San Francisco,
which were beloved stomping grounds for your mom and I when we lived in
SF.
Great trips, but not as good as having your mom and you home
in Addis. Welcome home, love bug!
love,
dad
