one lucky girl and two moochers
Dear Log,
I guess it’s about that time again. I can see my suitcase over there resting near the fireplace. Wait a second…no I can’t. I just remembered I put it in the hallway. But I can see my backpack over there. Next to it are big orange bags of peanut butter M&Ms stuffed in tin cups, waiting their turn to hop in and pile onto the baking mixes I bought after a hungry trip to Wal-Mart. I didn’t know how much I wanted biscuits until I was hungry at Wal-Mart and thought about not having the option of eating biscuits for 4 months and then I realized I would do almost anything for a biscuit. This translated into purchasing the mix.
Mother gave me the peanut butter M&Ms but she doesn’t know I’m taking the tin cups. It doesn’t matter anyways since we never go camping anymore. I’m also taking a ziplock container that my family does use regularly, but what she doesn’t know until I’m thousands of feet in the air can’t hurt me.
Soon I’ll be getting into a big airplane, flying across the pond and then the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea before arriving in Egypt, my dear Egypt, mother of the earth. I don’t believe in the Mayan prophesy of the apocalypse in 2012, but if tiny dinosaurs do flood the earth and devour all living creatures like a plague of adorable but lethal locusts, then I hope they’ll come in late May, when I’ll have returned to America and could see my family one last time. They are good, kind-hearted people, simple prairie folk that enjoy a football game and a cold beer or lemonade. They also hate being referred to as simple people, and it’s adorable when they get mad.
Log, I’ve sure learned a lot over the break. I learned that some people ask you questions about Egypt even though they don’t really care. I learned that my parents sometimes care more about making me feel loved than my complexion so they give me things like peanut butter M&Ms and lactation cookies. I learned that it’s important to force your family to go to breakfast at IHOP at 6:30 in the morning on the day you leave because sometimes there’s a beautiful sunrise and eventually people forget about what an inconvenience the whole thing was.
Most importantly, Log, I learned that relationships are the most worthwhile and exciting thing we have on this earth. Rather, I re-learned this. One bright day I was out run-walking with my two sisters, and I imagined someone driving by and seeing us, a perfect picture of sisterhood, two blonde ponytails and one brown one swishing in time. In that moment I felt like I was the luckiest girl in the world. I felt so blessed to be outside under the sky with sisters I love so much. Maybe this is just the sleep deprivation talking, but I feel like my travelling has brought me to a place of appreciating what I’ve always had and recognizing it as beautiful.
Log, I’m excited about the future and I’m excited about going back to Egypt because I have family and friends that support me and that my least favorite option for post-Egypt, coming back to Oklahoma and living with my family, is still wonderful.
Drevets out
P.S. I realized while writing this that none of us were wearing ponytails that day. I just remembered it like that in my head. Must be the old age.
Snotting black 
Yes! Especially to the Ihop at 6:30 in the morning the day you leave! I love this post as it speaks to the many times we’ve left people we love as we’ve gotten on planes and headed to Pakistan or Egypt….now it’s our kids doing the same.
Ihop ended up being fun, but there was a lot of potential for disaster. Thanks for reading!
Yay for you! I think you’re very brave to study in Egypt by yourself. It must be stressful for your folks; I would worry about you constantly if I were your father. God bless you. With respect to the end of the world, the movie said you were good until December 21.
I will cherish the next 10 odd months like I’ve never cherished anything before. No minute will go wasted, especially not the minutes I spend in the bathroom.
Some might call me brave for studying here, others would say I just wanted a paid year long vacation, and still others would say this was a bad way of going about doing that. Regardless, I’m here and happy to be here. Thanks for reading!
As the mother of this blogger – I can honestly say that I am not stressed by her studying in Egypt. What has stress – or worry – done to change any situation. On the other hand, knowing that she is in the clutch of God at all times – brings the most peace and joy a mother could ever have.
Hello to the mother! I am mom of a daughter studying in Egypt as well. She’s been there throughout the revolution and is in the heart of the city. We were able to visit at Christmas for 10 days, and actually lived in Egypt for 7 years when she was younger, but I couldn’t agree with you more about knowing that she is in the palm…no as you state, the clutch… of His hands at all times. Loved this comment.
Thanks for your comment. In some ways I wish we could visit Cairo before our daughter moves back to the states, but in other ways, her stories are enough to get a sense of what it’s like.
Of kindred spirit…
Blogger’s Mom
Love this! “One bright day I was out run-walking with my two sisters, and I imagined someone driving by and seeing us, a perfect picture of sisterhood, two blonde ponytails and one brown one swishing in time.” Beautiful!
You might add the “like” button for those that may have been by to read, but too shy to leave a comment.
Great blog!
Thanks for the suggestion and for reading!
This was a joy to read! 🙂 Take care in Egypt! Say hi to the sphinx for me.
Will do—I’m sure he’ll be eager to hear from you!
Have a great trip. Show them crazy Egyptians how the prairie folk do it.
And what the hell is a lactation cookie?!?
Great question: see this link for more details: http://www.drmomma.org/2010/08/major-milk-makin-lactation-cookies.html
My mom is a lactation consultant, and this has resulted in a large amount of unusual information about human lactation and the treats that help it.