The 23rd Dear _____ Post

Dear Pain in my Foot, Every step I take feels like someone's sticking a knife in the bottom of my foot. I'm not really sure what's wrong with it. According to "Dr. Google," it's either a stone bruise (more likely) or a stress fracture (less likely). Either way, there's not a ton that can really be done about it - past rest, elevation, and ice. But man, do you hurt!

Dear Packing, I think I've said this before, but man, do I hate you. I've put you off long enough. But I'm starting you this afternoon when I get back home. You're just sooooo not fun!

Dear Internal Alarm Clock, I realize you were forced to wake up at 5 a.m. every week morning for the last 5 weeks, but that's over. So please feel free to stop waking me up at that time every day...

Dear 50 lbs., You seem like a lot, but when you're trying to pack 6 months to a year worth of clothes, food, toiletries, and other supplies into two 50 lb. suitcases, it's really not that much.

Dear School Supplies, Some of the teachers where I was doing my internship got together and gave me a lot of you. ...far more than I can take back, right now even. They definitely saved me some money with all they gave me! :)

Dear Family Reunion, You're tomorrow morning. I always love going to you. It's so nice to get together with the whole extended family, catch up, enjoy good food, and just have a good time. We may be a loud crew when we're all together, but we're fun! :)

Dear Monetary Blessings, I got two of you this week. These were for things I was wanting (and hoping for), but not necessarily needing. I love that God will give us the desires of our hearts. :) 

Dear Haircut, I got you the other day. It's amazing how much lighter my head feels with my hair thinned out and an inch trimmed off. It's perfect for the Alabama and the Senegal heat :)

Dear Papermate Flair Pens, You are my most favorite kind of ink pens. I love to write letters with you, to grade papers with you, to study or take notes with you. You're colorful and fun. But here's the problem. You're expensive. Why? I'd buy far more of you if you're price was lowered. Why don't you tell your makers to lower the price a little? :)

Dear Small Picture Frames, I bought you this week. I can't wait to set you up in my new apartment. It's going to be nice to have pictures of my family and friends set out so I can show them off. :)

Dear 10, You're exactly how many days are left until I leave for Dakar. It seems like just yesterday that I got here. The time has just flown by! But I'm ready! :)

Dear Olympics Opening Ceremony, You were last night and I loved you! My favorite part is the Parade of Nations. I love seeing all of those countries in one room together. Why can't we all be at peace like it looks there? Wouldn't that be nice?

Special Edition Dear _______ Post - Numbers Edition

Dear 3000, You're approximately how many miles I've driven this summer, as a result of my grad school internship. You gave me lots of time for prayer. You gave me the chance to catch up on some of the latest music through the radio. You've given me no major problems along the way. And you really haven't been that bad. Thanks for that. :)

Dear 17, You're how many years it's been since my family moved away from the area in which I've been staying this summer. It seems like just yesterday. Childhood memories have  been flooding my brain all summer long.

Dear $3.29, You're how much gas was when I filled up my tank the other day. And while I'm happy it hasn't climbed back up to $4, I'm still sad, missing those $2.92 days earlier in the summer.

Dear 34, You're how many 2nd Graders I was able to talk about Senegal to today. Who knows? Maybe the next missionary to Senegal was there. How cool would that be? :)

Dear 1,000,000, You're how many questions (...give or take a few) I was asked by those 2nd graders yesterday. My favorite... "How long did it take you to drive to Africa?"

Dear 2, You're how many semesters I have left of grad school. Woohoo!! :)

Dear May 2013, You're the month in which I'll be graduating with my Master's degree. I'm sad that I'll miss my graduation, since I'll still be in Dakar. Why couldn't you have been a month later? :)

Dear 14, You're exactly how many days are left until my birthday! 

Dear 27, You're how old I'll be on my birthday. ...crazy to think that's true sometimes. :)

Dear 15, You're how many days are left until I leave sweet home Alabama, heading back to Dakar. It's always a little bittersweet. I'm sad to leave this home, my family, and life in the USA. But at the same time, I'm happy to be going back to my other home, my own apartment, my friends, my work, and my ministry.

Dear 8:00, You're what time I'm planning to leave Mobile tomorrow morning, heading back to my parents' house. It's bittersweet. I'm definitely happy to be able to spend my remaining 2 weeks with my family. But, I'm still sad to leave...

The 22nd Dear ______ Post

Dear Picture Someone Posted on Facebook, I think you are pretty awesome and wish the world could see how awesome people like this little girl are!

Dear Baby Shower, My mom and I are throwing you for my sister-in-law (and niece) today. It's been so much fun planning you, gathering all sorts of pink decorations, and plan that yummy shower food that we all love. I can't wait to see all of our family coming together later today to celebrate the soon-to-be arrival of my first niece. :)

And speaking of the baby shower... 

Dear Food Served at Showers, You are pretty great. Does anyone else agree? I love finger foods like that...mini sandwiches, fruit or veggie trays, little pastries... Yum! :)

Dear Bag Full of Clothes, You were given to me this week by a friend. You contained quite a variety of clothing options and almost all of them fit perfectly. How could this person have known the types of clothes I still wanted to purchase before heading back overseas? How could this person have known that I was worried about not having the money to buy those clothes? They couldn't have. But God did. YAY for God looking out for us!

Dear Weight Loss, I was worried when I left Dakar. I thought I'd gain all the weight back that I'd lost. But thankfully, I haven't. Has it been hard? Yes. ...even more so here in the land of fast food, drive thru restaurants, and unlimited refills. But it's so been worth it! :)

Dear Ice Cream, This past Sunday was the National Ice Cream Day. Go figure. I didn't realize there was a day set aside to celebrate your awesomeness. And don't worry ice cream. I put aside my weight loss goals for one night and indulged in some incredibly yummy Blue Bell Milk Chocolate Ice Creamy goodness :) And as a side note...that ice cream must have a LOT of caffeine because I was wide awake until about 4:00 in the morning. Needless to say, when my alarm went off at 6:00, it was incredibily hard to get up.

Dear Homesick, You're such a non-fun feeling. ...not to mention, at times being confusing. When I'm in Dakar, I often get homesick for America, my family, and those comfort items. But when I'm in America, I get homesick for Dakar. I miss my apartment, my friends, my work, the places and people that make that city so awesome. Right now, I'm having an amazing time with my family. I'm loving all this time spent with them and with friends I haven't seen in a while, but you know, I'm just really homesick for Dakar. I think it's time to go home...

And speaking of that...

Dear Senegal, I get to talk to 30 second graders about you on Monday. They're excited. Their teachers are excited. And I'm excited! The best part is that even though this is a public school, they have NOT limited me to what I can talk about. ...meaning, I can bring up God when I want. :)

Dear Cereal, I've never really been your biggest fan. Sure, I'd eat you. But I've never really enjoyed you. This summer, however, I've developed a big love for you and I have eaten you for breakfast (or a snack) probably 5 or 6 days out of the week. Look at me broadening my food repertoire :)

Dear Sadness, You're what I felt earlier this week, upon watching the news and hearing of two 16 year old girls that were killed in a car wreck. The girls were coming home from a weekend at their grandparents' house when a drunk driver ran a red light and T-boned their car with his 18-wheeler. The girls died before their parents could have a chance to say goodbye. The driver of the 18-wheeler got away with not even a scratch. He was of course arrested and will now have to live with the knowledge that his STUPID actions caused the death of those girls. But there was a silver lining... The girls' parents said both girls were believers of Jesus and they hoped that their death would now be an inspiration to others to accept Him as their personal Savior before its too late.

Dear Rain, You accompanied me the ENTIRE way back to my parents' house Thursday. That's approximately 250 miles. In fact, you were so bad at a couple times that I had to stop and wait it out until I could see more than 10 feet in front of me. You were soooo NOT a fun travel buddy, just so ya know.

Dear Brakes on my Car, You decided to go bad this week. I'm not happy that you went out. However, I am definitely grateful you didn't go bad in the middle of traffic and cause a wreck, or worse. And major shout out to the people that paid for that brake job, let me borrow a vehicle to get back and forth to school while it was in the shop, and then let me to continue to borrow their vehicle even though mine was fixed since my A/C still wasn't working. See world - good people do still exist. :)

Dear Day with my Dad, You're what I had yesterday. We went shopping. ...or rather, I went shopping and he sat in the truck outside. :) He treated me to lunch. We got to spend time talking, laughing, and catching up. Yesterday was a blessing and it's days like that that hold me over when I'm in Dakar and missing him terribly. :)

Dear Georgetown Assembly of God Church Family, I've really enjoyed spending this summer with you guys. It's been such a great stroll down memory lane every time I pull into the parking lot. I was really excited when Pastor asked me to share with you guys about my ministry in Senegal. Tomorrow morning's the day. And I can't wait! :)

The 21st Dear ________ Post

Dear Family and Friends, Who wants to come visit me in Dakar? I promise you'd have a lot of fun! I'll be back there in August, so come on folks. Any takers? :)

Dear Aunt Whose Birthday is Today, I hope you have a wonderful birthday today. I hope you're surrounded by people that love you the most. I hope you are treated like the special person you are. I love you and miss you and wish I could be with you today.

Dear Blog Readers, Do you actually exist? I sometimes wonder if anyone reads these. ...well past my dad and brother, that is. :)

Dear Totally Inappropriate, You are how I'd describe quite a few of the movies out right now. I miss the "good ol' days" with movies the whole family could go to and enjoy. (...and yes, I do realize that probably makes me sound so old.)

Dear Cooking, I haven't done much of you this summer so far. But this week, I've made up for it and have cooked quite a bit. It's funny... Four years ago, when I moved to Dakar, I didn't cook at all. I joke with people, saying I could barely boil water. But I taught myself, with the help of some awesome friends, and now I absolutely LOVE cooking. It's my de-stresser if I've had a hard day. And honestly, it's just fun. I love it! :)

Dear Morning Drive to School, I really like you. It's still fairly cool out, so my car's lack of A/C doesn't bother me as much. I can spend time talking with God and listening to the latest praise and worship music on the radio. It's been really nice and I think I'm really going to miss this time when I leave in a few weeks.

...speaking of which...

Dear 3 Weeks and 3 Days, You are exactly how much time is left until I leave for Dakar. You are always a little bittersweet. It's hard to leave family and the USA behind each time. But I'm starting to get a little antsy. That means it's time to head back home. :)

Dear Life Without Regrets, You're what I'd like to achieve. I don't want to get older and look back on my life and say, I wish I'd done that differently.

Dear Friend from High School, I am heading out in a few minutes to meet up with you and your little boy. I'm so glad this worked out while I was down in your "neck of the woods." Yay for friend reunions! :)

Dear Pedicure, I really need you. I do. My poor feet have taken a beating thanks to the African dirt and large volume of walking I've done. I really think you're going to be my birthday present to myself this year. Happy Birthday to Me! :)

The 20th Dear _______ Post

Dear God, I want this type of love story. Feel free to send it my way any time soon. :)

Dear Answered Prayer, We received you this week when my dad found out the spot on his kidney was only a cyst and most definitely NOT a tumor, as we feared. PRAISE THE LORD for answered prayers! :)

Dear Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, You have taken up permanent residence in my mind this week, thanks to a two-day English/Reading lesson on you. And as catchy as you are, it's starting to get old. So feel free to leave at any time...

Dear Dakar, I've been pretty homesick for you this past week. But guess what... I see you one month from tomorrow! :)

Dear America, Happy Birthday to you a few days late. Thanks for being such an awesome country. Thanks for all you've awarded me as a citizen of your greatness. Thanks for being a place of which I am proud to call "home."

Dear Praxis Test, I found out earlier this week that I passed you. And considering I took you two days after I landed, was experiencing MAJOR jet lag, and didn't feel prepared (even though I had studied a lot), I'd say that's pretty impressive. So take that Praxis! :)

Dear Wal-Mart, According to Yahoo news, you celebrated your 50th birthday this past Monday. Thanks for staying around so long. You've been there, providing what I've needed, many times. I wish you 50 more years of providing one-stop shopping to the masses. :)

Dear $2.92, You're how much gas was a gallon when I filled up this past Tuesday morning after school. And just so you know, you made me very happy, considering just a couple months ago I was fearing it hitting the $4/gal mark.

Dear Chik-fil-A, You are something I crave often while living in Senegal. I was sad when I started my summer and realized there wasn't one near me. But guess who found a Chik-fil-A this past Tuesday about 10 minutes from the school where she's working this summer! Can you say happy girl? :)

Dear 1 Month, You are exactly how long it is, from today, until my birthday. YAY for getting old! :)

Dear Friend from Dakar, We spent the day together yesterday. We ate lunch together. We ran errands together. We shopped together. We got to sit at chat. It was just like old times. I'm going to miss that so much over the next two years while y'all are gone from Dakar. 

Dear Paul (...from the Bible), I've been reading a lot of your work this week. It's all things I've read numerous times before. But at the same time, I feel like my eyes are being opened a little more each time, allowing me to notice something new each time I read. I was having a pity party for myself towards the end of last week, but this week things have changed. God's opened my eyes to how a situation that is hurtful and seems really bad at the time is actually good for me. God turns bad into good and sometimes I think he has to give us a little bit of a shock to snap us back into reality, you know. Anyways...Paul, you've been what God's been using to teach me this week. So thanks for listening to God a few thousand or so years ago. 

The Patriotic Dear ______ Post

Dear America, Today is the day we, your citizens, celebrate your independence. So in honor of your special day today, I thought I'd write a special Dear _________ Post, including a few American-made things I like. 

Dear Football, You are my most favorite sport to watch being played. You provide an almost adrenaline rush. I love it! 

Dear Baseball, I may not like playing you, but I love watching you being played. You are definitely an American past time. Thanks for being such a fun game to watch.

Dear Telephone, You have turned out to be a great invention. I wonder if Mr. Bell ever dreamed of what you'd become when he first invented you way back when. 

Dear Corndogs, You are a tasty snack that I enjoy when I'm in the States. Thanks for always being such a delicious snack. P.S.  Did you know you are turning 70 this year?

Dear Post-it Notes, I absolutely, positively, 100 percent-ly LOVE you. As a teacher, you are one of my top 10, most favorite supplies to have. I stock up on you every time I'm in the States for a visit. Any time someone asks what I'd like in a care package, I add you to the list. You are perfection in a squared shape. Keep up the good work Post-its!

Dear Cupcakes, You are such a fun little treat. You can't help but smile when eating a cupcake. My personal favorite are strawberry cupcakes with strawberry frosting. ...or maybe chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting. I guess it's a tie. :)

Dear Peanut Butter, You are one of my favorite foods. I love you on toast, in a sandwich, with apples, and even just by yourself. 

Dear Fortune Cookies, I had no idea that you were invented here in the good ol' USA. According to the Houston Press, a Japanese-American immigrant, living in California in the 19th century invented you. Go figure. 

Dear Cranberries, I have always loved your yummy goodness. I love you in your fresh, dried, and juice form. I love baking you into cakes, muffins, and cookies too. You're such a versatile fruit. And you're healthy too. So you get double the "brownie points."