My Life as an African Gypsy

I made it! 11 nights and 12 days.

To some of you, it sounds silly, inexperienced, naive, young., etc. for it to be as difficult and dreaded as it was. To me I say it is a sign of a good marriage. I pray I never become accustomed to my husband's absence, whether it be for one day or one year.(To be honest, those first few can be the hardest!) Jon and I are partners in this life, and that means any life done without him is going to feel off. 

I think I dealt with a little depression before Jon left, so I've concluded that I was really feeling exhausted, but maybe it wasn't my pregnancy. Because I was so exhausted, I think I wasn't giving Anaya quite the attention she needed/wanted so her behavior had not been enjoyable the weeks prior to Jon's travel either. I had envisioned us wanting to kill each other after so much time together, as she usually enjoys when she can switch to Daddy time.

Once Jon left, I think I accepted it because, hello, I had to. =) I had plenty of energy and my attentions turned to my Anaya girl. We had sweet times together, which I am thankful for before our little Jovie joins us. Her behavior was unprecedented, even with a tooth emerging. We were rather scheduled about things, and I took the opportunity to implement a few news things into our routine... like helping me clean up! It was a fun week and a half for Jon to be gone, because it was the time her vocabulary decided to sky rocket. She has started saying SO many new words. She really was a dream child. We even went to the hospital multiple times, and she was more patient than usual, having to go to so many rooms before playing outside.

It was after Anaya went to bed at 7pm that things became a little more difficult for me. The house is awfully quiet alone, and sleep in our bed alone did not come easily. I found myself up until midnight nearly every night, and then up every hour or two after that. I watched some movies, crafted, read my Bible... still it was long.

Cross continent distance is a little different, too. 9 hour time difference is a bit hard to deal with when it comes to chatting. It's a "goodnight" - "goodmorning" sort of thing. Not to mention that you cannot just pick up your cell and give a quick call or text, though I am thankful people were so generous with Jon in the States, so he could have one most of the time and Skype is available on all these fancy smart phones. (We are very behind on the times here. You should see my brick phone.)

I did end up with the deep feeling like this is our home. I thought a lot about it, for instance, if something happened to Jon, what would Anaya and I (and soon-to-be Jovie) do. This was my first time alone in Mozambique. It is impossible to say for sure or make those decisions outside of the circumstance, however, I did have a peace in my heart that this house, Maputo, my friends, the hospital... all of it is home. And that is good.

Jon is home now. This wife is very happy. I nearly exploded before I heard the arrival of his car outside our gate. Anaya and I had been playing outside for about 2 hours previous. It is hard to prep a 1 year old for such emotions. I think it was all a little much for her. She was definitely happy to see Daddy, and now, a day after he's been home, she is back to begging for his lap.

Now only a couple of weeks until we are a family of 4! My mom arrives in less than 2 wks. Excitement is the new name of the game. =)