KALLAD VID NAMN

Lika stor. Lika snygg. Lika fin.
Lite brunare.
Men jag visste var han hade varit.
Det var inte till vilken ”södern” som helst. Det var Afrika!
Och det var doften.

Första gången jag kände doften av afrika var när min äldsta syster kom hem efter en några månader lång vistelse i Zimbabwe. Hon luktade väldigt annorlunda. Och den doften stannade kvar flera dagar. Mest doftade hennes sandaler.

Nu kände jag den igen. I Leons blus. Tänk att den kan fastna så och att doften är så lika, oberoende av afrikanskt land. (Kanske.) Är det värmen som fastnat? Sanden? Vattnet?

Därom tvista de lärda. Men fallet var klart. Mitt lejon hade sprungit på savannen.

Ikväll firar vi Homecoming hos oss. Leon kommer äntligen hem efter en två veckors vistelse i afrikas mörka djungel. Jag har fått smaka på hur det är att vara ensamstående mamma. Jag har kommit fram till att det är bättre att vara tillsammansstående mamma.

Fast dessa två veckor har nog ändå löpt ganska smärtfritt. Jag har passat på att fixa en hel del program för oss, så att vi inte skall ha tid att märka att vårt Lejon är borta. Det var en bra plan.

Igår kväll såg jag på The Notebook. Oj, vad den var bra! Ungdomlig kärlek, stora känslor, tårar och skratt. Just för mig. Jag tyckte jag kände igen Leon och mig i de galenskaper som paret i filmen gjorde. Och då började jag sakna honom. Riktigt mycket. Tur att han kommer hem idag då!

Så ikväll skall jag vara homecoming queen (vad det nu sen egentligen är) och ta emot min hemkommande king. Vi får igen njuta av varandras skratt och gemenskap. Och så har jag ju en liten överraskning….

Voi skräp ändå! Jag kan inte komma på en enda bra status idag. Det har liksom inte hänt något som skulle vara så där speciellt, eller catchy. Det är ju totalt onödigt att lägga en status som ingen kommenterar, eller ens gillar! Ingen bra status – inget bra liv.

Eller?

Sen när är det mina vänners aktivitet på facebook som betygsätter mitt liv? Så får det inte vara.

Mitt liv just nu är ganska inrutat. Det är rutiner, funderingar kring sömn, mat och lek. Men det är också en speciell tid då jag får lära känna en alldeles ny människa, ett litet mirakel. Jag får bevittna ett oändligt antal ”första gången” och nya upptäckter. Det är en tid då jag får växa och mogna, både på utsidan och insidan. Jag är tvungen att tänka mindre på mig själv och mer på någon annan. En tid för att lära sig älska.

Autch!!
I just came home after 40 minutes of painful body sugaring. And man, it hurt!! (actually still does..)
I’ve done it ones before and it wasn’t a very pleasant experience then either, but this time, I was about to start crying, and that really says a lot! When the treatment was over and the lady moistered me with some kind of soothing balm I wanted to scream and my hands had almost gone numb…

So today I really learned that beauty has a price.

But the result is very nice, and I guess it is worth it. I’ll probably be back in the salon again in a few weeks or so…

Yes, it is true: The first flowers are beginning to show!
I went for a walk today with my sister and we could hardly believe our eyes when we saw some snow drops (snödroppar) that had already made their way through the ice cold dirt and soon will bloom.
Another spring flower also delighted my day with her presence. The beautiful Ellen came to visit and we had a really good talk. It was so good to see her! And we could even talk some swahili together!
It was such a pretty, springy day today. Birds singing, flowers growing, the sun shining and that certain scent of spring forest. Thank you!

That is how I would title my life now. It is sort of in between things, and yet so many things are happening.
Because of the situation in Kenya our travelling planes have been postponed. We do not know when we will be going, but I believe it will still be during this spring. So now I am staying with my parents and working, at the store for the moment. Allmost all my friends are somewhere else and Leon is in Karleby.
This is not how I imagined my spring would be. But as always, something good will probably come out of this too…

Right now I’m in Härnösand in Sweden. Me and Leon are on a course that will help us get ready to travel to Kenya in February. We’ve started a travel blog on resdagboken.se, so check that out. Our alias is: LeonJenny. Search for us under ”resenärer”. That’ll be in swedish though, so if you don’t understand what we are up to, e-mail me!

If you want to, please pray for us. Many questions arise in an already questioning mind. So there is a lot to think about and settle in our minds. Please do also pray for the situation in Kenya!

That is how I would describe my weekend. I spent it in Kokkola with Leon and we had such a good time! On Friday we played the best PS game ever (also the only one I really know) with Leon’ sister; Singstar! The perfect game for someone who loves karaoke and standing on a stage. Me like!
Saturday we went to a mission basaar where we ate a huge portion of Christmas porridge and as the whole place was pretty much filled with Leon’s aunts and uncles and cousins we said hello to quite a few people there… After that it was time for more relatives and more porridge at a ”Small Christmas” party. I must say my boyfriend has a special tactic when it comes to fooling people in the game Rappakalja. Humor in disguise? No, there is no disguise, simply Leon
Then, Sunday, the day of leisure was a real day of leisure. We went to metsku and listen to a real good sermon and had some really good ginger bread that the children made in Sunday school. Yammy!

… soon, it’s the most wonderful time of the year!!

I love Christmas and Christmas is really catching up on us. (or the other way around…?)

This morning there was snow on the ground when I woke up. Makes me smile. Makes my whole day smile! =D

Thank you Lord for snow! And thank you for Christmas. For love and joy and mercy.

It seems like just when you think things are never going to change, they really do.
A few weeks ago I got to know that Leon is moving away from Turku. Now I believe I will be moving too before christmas!
The reason is that we will spend a few months in the spring in Kenya, Nakuru, volunteering at a children’s home. (bethesda.se) And before that we will be preparing for that time. That would leave mewith about two weeks during which I could study here. Not much point in that…
But we’ll be back next fall!
I guess I could write a bit more about all this, but at the moment it’s still too new for me and there is so much to think about.

Banana, you’ll do just fine! =D