Saying Good bye

Life music at Bull and Bush
(if you watched the No. 1 Ladies' Detective tv show, it was was the location for
the Go Go Handsome Gentleman's Club)

I’m writing from the comfort of my kitchen table.

The tv is on for background noise;

Griffey is sleeping at my feet;

And the heat is on in the house;

How quickly things change and yet Botswana me seems so long ago.

It’s been 48 hours since I’ve been home.

Enough time for it to sink in that I’m no longer in Africa.

I’ve had the pleasure of arriving to a home decorated with a welcome home sign and banner, to a treat bowl filled with fruit and goodies for me (and Griffey), and potted spring flowers all over the house! (Thank you Stokes family!)

I’ve run into neighbours, received “welcome home” text messages and phone calls from friends, enjoyed dim sum with the family and enjoyed Dad’s home cooking.

The week before I left Botswana I looked forward to being home-

Everything about home – my family, my dog, my house, my car, my space, Toronto food, etc. etc.

In this excitement I forgot about having to say goodbye to my life and the people who had become part of my life in Africa. Here are a few good bye’s…

With Winnie, our housekeeper

A few days before leaving I told Belé (our office man) that I was going home on Saturday.

He just stood there not understanding.

He thought I was just going home for a visit.

No, I had to explain, I was going home for good…

In the days following that, Belé was seen sticking his head in our office, as if to make sure, I was still there…like I didn’t leave early or anything.

We shared a moment one afternoon where he took my picture with his cell phone camera.

Then he told me how he was going to show my picture to his mom, and tell her all about me and share the chocolate that I gave him with her.

Funny thing is…due to circumstance and timing, we never got to say goodbye.

On Saturday morning I woke up in a sweat.

I was terrified knowing that my housemates would be out and that I was the only one that was going to be in the house and that I needed to let Winnie, our housekeeper in…

It was only 7:30am.

Phew. I had time.

Winnie had a lot of work to do that Saturday morning because both Junior and I were leaving and two new people were moving into our rooms that evening!

When Winnie later knocked on my door to say good morning, I invited her in telling her I had something for her.

I opened my closet door to reveal a stack of clothing and a couple pairs of shoes for her and her family (Winnie has three children and travels 1 hour each way to get to our Casa Maria three times a week).

She literally fell into my arms giving me a gigantic hug.

Winnie asked about my family and if I had siblings.

with Curtis, our garden/pool boy

She said she would pray for my family and send us blessings.

She also asked for my information and that she would borrow her sister’s telephone to “What’sApp” me…

Later, before leaving the house, I asked the boys to take a photo of Winnie and I by the pool.

She put one arm around me and placed the other on my chest.

I’m not entirely certain what this meant, but I’m thinking it’s something from her tribe…a respect thing.

Whatever it was, it was sweet and I will remember her kindness.

Saying good bye to one of my client counterparts was surprisingly sweet.

Matlapeng led our group from the local side, along with Kaelo and Boa.

Matlapeng and Kaelo were both educators in their past lives and Boa is a young Batswana who was educated abroad. The three of them were a fabulous team to work with, fresh ideas and lots of healthy discussion, both amongst themselves and with our team as well.

In saying good bye, Matlapeng held my hands in his, looked me in the eyes and said, “I am grateful to have met you.”

I am still thinking about these words today.

I am grateful to have met you.

What did I do? What did I say?

Have others impacted my life in the same way?

Who am I grateful to have met?

I should tell them…

Life is short.

I am grateful to have spent almost ten weeks in Africa.

But my life is here at home, waiting for me to jump in and get going…

I’m still in a bit of a fog…but slowly acclimatizing.

I’ve got one more blog in mind about my time in Johannesburg (we had an eight hour layover).

I’ll share that with you next time.