Putting It All in Perspective

We got home today after being gone for 10 days in Nicaragua.  We really did have a fantastic trip, and I can't wait to share aspects with you.

Traveling to another country with a one year old brought many challenges, one of which was having to get her retrained to sleeping in her bed when we returned.  It only took her about 10 minutes tonight before she was finally sleeping soundly.  Poor girl finally fell asleep for her afternoon nap on the plane ride home as we were making our descent into Houston.  Then I had to wake her so we could exit the plane.  All in all, she was a trooper and traveled pretty well.  Dominque believes we have a thrill seeker on our hands because she loved take off on the plane and shrilled in delight.

 Just trying to get through the airport headed to Nicaragua was a disaster.  First imagine us starting our trip with 6 suitcases, a car seat, a stroller, a backpack, and a diaper bag!  We barely had any clothes, we were just trying to get all the items collected from friends and church family over so we could pass it out.  We also had some items the missionaries there had requested we pick up for them.  Adding to that, we also had to carry milk for Malia and food for her along with enough clothes and baby items to last for the trip.  Although we knew that Dominque and I could wash our clothes, Malia has such sensitive skin, we just took plenty for her.  Unfortunately, we had trouble checking in our bags because I couldn't get assistance with checking in Malia's bag.  I ended up paying the $40 to get the bag checked in as everyone else in our group had been long gone.  Then, finally a nice agent came and helped me get her car seat checked in and told me to call United when we get back and get our $40 back.

Our next stop was security where we were stopped for the milk.  The TSA agent wanted to open all the cartons of milk to test them... Ummmm.....not gonna happen.  Poor Ellen was trying to help us get all our carry-ons to the gate and I accidentally gave her the bag with two milk cartons and she didn't know!  I had one TSA agent with the other bag of milk who agreed to just test the milk that was in her bottles.  However, the man who stopped Ellen's bag would only let us go with the milk if he "searched" one of us.  Dominque agreed to the search.  I'm not sure how searching someone (who wasn't even carrying the bag, mind you) was going to ensure the milk was safe.  Oh well, we finally got through and proceeded on to our gate.

I just realized I digressed from my original thought, so I will share a little bit of my trip with each post I make.  Thankfully we were able to come back with much less and getting out of Nicaragua was much easier than it was getting out of the US.

When we got home this evening I instantly began seeing all the things that needed to get done.  I was almost certain I had left my house looking more tidy, but I guess not!   I see the suitcases that need to be unpacked and the mountain of laundry that needs to be done.

I opened the fridge door and there is absolutely nothing on the shelves.  We were so tired, we didn't even go to the store to buy Malia some milk for this evening.

Tomorrow I need to go to the church and do the bulletin and announcement slides.  I also have a few things I need to catch up on at work.  I also had messages to return on my voice mail and then the mountain of mail that took over our dining room table.

Then as I'm laying in bed thinking about all that needs to be done, I realize that I have my perspective all wrong.  I should be thankful that I have a mountain of laundry to wash.  Thankfully I have a nice washer and dryer to wash them in.  Thankful I have running water in my home and running water that I can drink and isn't turned off at certain points of the day (you know there's an interesting story there, right?)  I can put my toothbrush under the faucet and use that water to rinse my brush, rather than having to use filtered water from a bottle.  I can also give Malia a bath and not have to worry about her drinking the water.

True, there are boxes and other remnants in the living room of me trying to cram all the items collected for Nicaragua into our bags, but what a blessing it was to take all those items over there.  It was great too that we didn't have to pay extra for baggage (I do intend to get my $40 back).

I may need to go to the grocery store, but I have the ability and finances to do so, as well as the opportunity to buy fresh, safe, and properly stored items.  There aren't flies swarming around the items at the market.  Additionally, when I was in Nicaragua, I didn't have to worry about what I would scrap together for a meal.  We were well fed and had plenty of fresh fruit and lots of gallo pinto!

All in all, I'm glad I went on the trip.  Looking at the things that need to be completed around the house, I need to just pause and thank God for my blessings.  I truly am blessed.

It's late, and I'm going to lay in my nice comfy bed and fall fast asleep.  I'm sure my rambling thoughts may not have come out correctly, however, I'm too tired to proofread.