We have now been here for over 5 weeks. We have lived in 3 different
places and moved 4 different times. Each place has been unique in its
own right. Our first and current guest house is what I would say is
rather posh! The second and forth place we stayed in is homey and
summer camp like (although still in the heart of Addis). The third
place we stayed was comfortable and relaxing (to a certain extent,
there was a 4 and 6 year old living in the house). But the one thing
that ties all of these places together is the night time. Every night
as we lay down to sleep with the lights off, we could be anywhere.
The only thing that was certain each night is that the bed we lay in
is not our own. And some nights that is very hard.
At the first place we were lulled to sleep by cows mooing and awaken
by the loud speakers at the mosque. The bed was very hard, but
overall the newness of being here and jetlag helped us to sleep fairly
well.
At the second and fourth place we sung ourselves to sleep by singing
along to the American music that was blasted every night from the bar
adjacent. And we were awoken by the hustle and bustle of the people
outside on one of the busiest streets in Addis. The bed was much more
comfortable but the air always thick with smells and smog.
At the third place we stayed we would mark the time in the night with
the sound of the 11:00pm Ethiopian Air departure to D.C. And we were
awaken by a knock on the door with a four year old saying “Mike, Mandy
are you awake?” The bed was nice but being able to stay with a family
was even better. It felt a little bit more like home.
At the fifth place we stayed things changed! We no longer lay in bed
at night being lulled by the uncertainty of our time here. Nor were
we kept awake by the aching to have our son with us. But instead last
night we experienced the most amazing sound we have heard since we
arrived. A sound that we felt we would never hear! Yes, last night
around midnight we were awaken by the sound of our son! He cooed to
himself then rolled over and smiled at us. He is finally with us to
stay! We brought him home yesterday afternoon!
We don’t know when we will be home! We don’t know when we will go to
court! We don’t when we will receive B's passport! We don’t know
when we will get a full night’s sleep again! But we do know that none
of that matters anymore! We are complete now, our family is together
forever!
