Tickets are booked. Travel arrangements are in the works. I sit with her on our carpet and point to the tiny little country on such a large continent.
"Uganda." I point there and she tries to repeat.
"OO--da."
Close enough. In about 4 weeks, I will bring her to New York to spend two weeks imagining, pretending, playing, napping, eating and sleeping with her cousins of all ages. Maama and Poppa will be her delight while I board a plane with some anxiety and an adventurous heart.
It's one thing to travel as a single, non-attached person. It's a whole other sacrifice to kiss your baby goodbye and travel across the globe. Last year, she picked that time as her chance to start walking. My teammates consoled me in saying, "Don't worry. You'll be there when she starts to drive."
So I'm planning, prepping, sewing. We still need lots of help for The Pillowcase Project. You can help. Start sewing. Send pillowcases. Come to our fundraiser. [There's more info here]
She spins the globe and I'm a little sentimental. A little stamp of "Fort Worth" blurs in the colors of a world that really isn't that big. Hong Kong. Dublin. Guatemala City. Istanbul. I imagine the day she sits down with me and grabs this globe, and says, "Mom. I'm going here." The colors will probably blur a bit, and I'll remember when I watched her walk for the first time over a choppy internet connection from somewhere deep in Uganda.
Hoping that the steps I take today lead to lessons in walking for her. Lessons in standing in what you know you're called to do, even when the world spins.
leaves tears in my eyes... you are a good momma!
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