Too Easy!!
on When I'm 64 (Sri Lanka), 16/Jun/2011 13:43, 34 days ago
   What a royal welcome home! My sister Roberta and my cousins Helene and Lyn were at Logan airport with a bright pink boa, a welcome home poster with all things i missed like bagels, western toilet, cheeses, pizza, breads and a washing machine on it; and to top it all off, a diamond tiara to wear on my head. I wore it all evening. I really felt like a queen.     I have been back a little over a week and it feels like a month. I slipped right in and it is disturbing as if Sri Lanka never happened. I am missing my life there, my friends, the staff, the patients, the routineness of day to day life in a rural town where there were so many hellos as I walked thru the streets, my routine in general; yet I am totally comfortable here and easily slipped into American life. I have been very busy with fixing cameras, computers, getting glasses, shopping for a car, spending money in general seems very, very easy! Supermarket shopping was really overwhelming. There are soooo many products and choices. It is too easy to get everything here.   The weekend was spent at my stepson Scott's 50th birthday party, the reason I came back when I did. I loved seeing the kids, family, Mari..that was so sad, so sad. What felt great was seeing all the grandkids and being welcomed and wanted and playing and laughing and making fun of their aging parents!   It feels too easy to slip back into running water right out of the tap, no boiling, no filtering. It is too easy to step into a hot shower that is actually hot and runs as long as you like. There is also always toilet paper when you use a toilet, I don't have to remember to carry packets of tissues everywhere and I never have to squat, it's too easy to throw my clothes in a tub and they magically get washed; and I don't have to get carsick driving on unpaved roads that go to where you want them to eventually like 7 hours later.    Of course I have neglected to mention my final adventure in Sri Lanka which happened on my last night there. My wonderful priest friend invited me to spend my last evening with him (truth is I invited me). He lives near the airport so VSO drove me from Badulla to his house and he graciously took me to the airport at 2:30 AM. We had a lovely evening and then I laid down for a few hours. It was very hot so I laid down on my tummy with little on. When I arrived in London, I became vaguely aware of feeling itchy and by the time I got home, I was very itchy on my front torso only..next morning I diagnosed myself with bedbug bites! Fortunately, I had put nothing but myself on the bed so I didn't transport any and I had a reminder of Sri Lanka for days to come!   It took several days to unpack my 2 suitcases filled with stuff. I had forgotten that I had filled my cousin Helene's closet and drawers with other stuff..what is all this stuff???? Probably half of it is a waste. What is frightening is that I shipped two boxes of stuff that has yet to come..oy veh or ai ow...what will I do with that!!!    So the questions: am I retired, when am I going back to NY, am I going to work, when am I going out West or South, what is my next trip, am I going to volunteer again, what am i doing with my life, how will I pay my bills???????????? Most important question, what should I do with my blog..I am open to suggestions....