[February 31st] Better late than never

Hiiiii. It's me. It's March 3rd. The days have just been passing me by.

I've been really aware lately of my two-ness. Well, I've been really aware of it since I first read the description in early 2017 and was like "OH HI YES THIS IS ME" and that all still feels pretty recent. One thing that I know about myself, and that the language of the enneagram has given me words to name, is that the value I see in myself is anchored in the value others see in me. Thank you all for teaching me, simply by not being disappointed in me because I missed my day, for showing me that when I maybe can't show up for others, you'll still love me, especially if it's just posting on a blog, which is so so important and also maybe there are other ways that I can show up and it's ok if I'm late to post on the blog.

Sometimes I feel like I'm really drinking the enneagram Kool-Aid, but it's really good Kool-Aid and I want people I love to drink it, too. So, if you haven't, I strongly recommend taking the enneagram test (there are also free versions if you google around). Ok, enough plugging.

I'm back in Kenya and I'm having some delightful moments that make me feel like posting on Instagram, and then I kept thinking that instead I could share those moments with you. I sat with a colleague today and told him about how I keep waking up in the middle of the night and don't realize until who knows how much time has gone by that I've been in a half asleep state trying to solve a work problem that I certainly can't solve without my calendar or spreadsheet open and I should just go back to sleep. So, I'm a little stressed...and these moments of delight are all the more, well, delightful. And I want to share them with you!

When I lived in Kenya, I had this idea that I would post on my blog - at all, really, but also a specific idea - sights and sounds and smells of Kenya. I never did, but since I've already embraced the better late than never approach, here are some from the last few days:

I drove all around Kitui County earlier this week, and in addition to generally marveling at the epic blue sky and the gorgeous trees I hadn't realized I'd missed seeing, I loved passing dried up river beds - these seasonal rivers are, like, rushing during and after the rainy season, and NOWHERE TO BE FOUND during the dry season. Whoa, Earth!

[ok I had to give up on uploading this, it's a lot of loud chirping]

I woke up before my alarm because these birds were going caraaaaazay outside, and it was kind of awesome. This is audio, not video, but I think maybe I've successfully uploaded by pretending it's a video?

Sweaty, blinded-by-the-equator-sun me in front of the waterfall in Karura Forest, my favorite place in Nairobi, which Wangari Maathai and a band of fierce women defended so that Nairobians can learn about and enjoy nature, and so that I can take delightful Sunday morning runs. Today, I also saw one monkey on my run, which was like, "Ru! I made an appearance so you can feel like you saw monkeys but I didn't come with a crew because sometimes we're scary when there are many."

I was sitting and doing work and already being like, "I'm so lucky, it's so warm and sunny but I'm in the shade and I have coffee and I got a table outside that ALSO has an outlet" when a child just came over to me and gave me this flower and then walked away (hopefully back to his parents, who I assume were enjoying their own delightful coffee experience.

I visited this decentralized wastewater treatment facility in rural Kenya and the sky was so blue and there were mountains in the distance I wanted to climb and I kept asking people what mountains they were and they were like, "those are just some mountains" so no one else thought they were special but I decided that taking photos in scenic treatment plant locations is my new thing, this is 2/2. 

This is a photo I took for my job, which is about toilets, and that's fun, isn't it?

This was my last meeting of the day and I convinced everyone that we should sit outside in the shade which was a wonderful decision because inside would have been so stuffy and hot and this was deliiiiiiightful and there was a breeze. After the meeting, we discovered that the drive on the very bumpy road had caused the back door to no longer be able to close, so we all stood around watching one person try to close it repeatedly, and then someone, like, hammered something, and then it worked. But again, I was in the shade, and isn't it amazing that shade is a thing?

This is Elizabeth. She sold us 20 mangoes for 15 shillings each (about $0.15) and then she gave us three more for free and I was like, "Ok, Kitui County does not have coffee (like not even instant) and I couldn't get water at breakfast because no one ever wants water for breakfast so they just don't have it, but there are these mangoes, so I'll take it."

And did you think I forgot about smells? Haven't yet figured out how to upload, but I smelled the most amazing petrichor on my way home this evening. It rained a little earlier today - I felt the first few drops as I went full Kenyan and sprinted down the street to try to get inside before the skies opened...which they didn't end up doing...just a few drops and some epic scents.

I love you all. We did it. Thanks for being here. See you next year.