Catch-up Time

The last post I wrote was almost 2 months ago, on April 2nd. I've been crazy busy and a lot has happened, like...

C25K "training" - I was doing pretty well while in Dakar. Then I came back to the U.S. and got a little behind. It was so hard to get back in the swing of things, but I did. I've found two different places to go running in town and one in the town where I'll be taking French classes in July. And I'll be running a 5K in late July. I'm not totally positive of the date since I haven't made up my mind on which race I want to run.

Travel - I was scheduled to leave Dakar June 3 heading back to the U.S., but in late April, I received that my dad was placed in the hospital for another emergency surgery (which then turned into 4 surgeries in a little over a week's time). I spent a lot of time in prayer and seeking advice from my mission supervisors, school administration, my family, and most importantly with my Jesus. And I truly felt it was God's will that I leave early to help my dad with driving, emotional support, and care, and to help my parents move into their new house. Therefore I left on May 4th and after 2 fairly short layovers, I landed in Atlanta. I spent the night with my aunt, uncle, and cousin, and rode with my aunt to sweet home Alabama the next day, arriving at my dad's school around lunch time.

My Dad - In early February, my dad had a heart attack. Then a month later, he had another one. Then, a month after that, he is taken to the hospital with severe stomach pain, later to be diagnosed as peritonitis (severe infection in the peritoneal cavity). He was in the hospital for 8 days with that, had 4 surgeries in a little over a week's time. He did go home from the hospital and went back to work. This time has been the hardest in my life. It's been so hard being so far away from my family, especially while my dad is in pain, severely sick, in the hospital, and fighting for his life. My dad is definitely my hero and to know that my hero was hurting and I couldn't be there was absolutely awful! But with all that said, he is so much better now. He still has a lot of restrictions, no heavy lifting (well nothing over like 10lbs). He gets tired pretty easily. He has to watch eating certain foods. But, he's ALIVE. He's at HOME. And he can do anything he did before this ordeal, just modified a little. :)

Tornado - On April 27, the state of Alabama (and other states too) was affected by the worst series of tornados in a long, long time. The death toll rose to well over 200. People lost their family members, friends, homes, pets, businesses, vehicles, and some even lost their hope. It was such a sad, sad day for my home state.

Moving - My parents moved to their new house this week. They chose to move for 3 reasons. 1) They're now be closer to my dad's doctors. 2) They're now closer to my mom's job. She works night/closing shift a lot and the thought of her driving a long distance in the pitch black dark wasn't nice. 3) They're now closer to their church, The Journey, which will be starting on June 12.

Working - I left Dakar 1 month before school dismissed for the summer. Therefore, along with the typical travel items in my suitcase, I'd packed curriculum mapping, lesson planning sheets, copies of important pages from my teacher's editions, and a flash drive full of important documents to fill out this summer. Since arriving in Alabama, my new "office" has been an empty desk in my dad's classroom ('til school got out last week) and now the next to last booth in McDonald's (where my mom works) thanks to their free (fast) wi-fi. :) I come armed with my backpack, computer, all necessary papers and books, and 22cents for a large cup of water in a styrofoam cup (because it keeps the water cold longer).