Dear ECS: When you fart in the bath, it makes bubbles

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