I saw the email come through asking for help in Sierra Leone, and for some reason I felt moved to respond. I had seen other emails plop into my inbox asking for help on the Ebola response, but had deleted them before the pixels had dried. Yet this email stirred me to action. Nothing special about the plea or the syntax. Maybe I was just bored.
At one time I had fancied myself as an intrepid scientist\do-gooder. I had engulfed books like "Virus Hunters of the CDC", imagining myself parachuting into some backwater with a test tube and a petri dish and lollipops for the kids. But then life happened. Life always happens.
After responding to the email, I had a few days to change my mind. I wrestled with the decision. I mean I really wrestled, and in the end I felt beat up. What am I thinking? What in the hell is a 46 year-old man with a wife and 3 kids doing volunteering to help in SL for the summer. When I come back I'll still have the 3 kids. Not sure about the wife.
Actually, she is pretty good about everything, though she grumbles a bit. Why wouldn't she? We jackass men make a thousand promises to these women to get them to marry us, and not a single one of them comes true. Its pathetic. I'm sure she would like a do-over. Its a good thing our Mormon culture and her Chinese culture frown on divorce. Sometimes when she is talking on the phone with her Chinese friends or her family, I think she might be planning an escape. Anybody know the Chinese word for divorce so I can listen for it? I know the Chinese word for crazy idiot. She seems to be using that one a lot lately. Here is a picture of her I keep on my nightstand. I would like to say that the prettiest she ever looked was on our wedding day, but to me that seems like kind of an insult, like she went downhill from that day. Regardless, she was gorgeous that day. Stirred me up for that night.
She'll be okay while I am gone. I know it will be hard for her, but I have good neighbors and good members in my church. Hopefully the kids won't drive her bonkers during the summer. Sometimes that summer vacation seems really long.
Speaking of kids, my daughter Maggie graduated last night from Brookwood high school in Snellville. Her given name is Magdalene, named for the gal in the Bible. I always thought it was cool that the first person Christ appeared to after his resurrection was Mary Magdalene. Plus I think the shortened version of "Maggie" sounds pretty cool. There aren't too many Maggies around in the world. Lest you think I am a christening rebel, the names of my other 2 children are Jacob and Sofie. There are a lot of them.
Maggie thinks its cool I am going to SL. She is even a bit envious. Maggie will start at Brigham Young University in Provo, UT in the fall. When I get back from SL, she and I will drive out to Utah. I am looking forward to that road trip.
God didn't have to give me the perfect older daughter, but he did. Maggie is a gem. Every day for 4 years while she was going to high school, Maggie woke up every morning at 5:00 am so that she could be at school at 6:00 for religious classes. I never had to wake her up once, although I had to take her to school for 3 of those years. On Valentine's Maggie bakes treats and takes them to the old ladies in our church. Maggie plays piano, and will sometimes give peformances during our worship services. Lately she is learning to play the organ. I could go on a long time about Maggie. I cried at the graduation ceremony. So did she. I will miss her dearly.
I felt bad after the graduation ceremony. I told Maggie I was working on getting her a graduation present, but it was hard because she is not yet 18. She got excited because she thought I was giving her a present of sky diving. Actually I was trying to open up a brokerage account so I could by her 200 dollars worth of mutual funds. Honestly, the sky diving thing never crossed my mind. You do have to be 18 to do that, however. Sometimes I am lame.
I was going to write a bunch about my decision to go to SL and my preparation, but I got side tracked. I suppose that will happen a lot. Along that vein, Cleveland is smoking the Hawks in the Eastern conference finals. Maybe I should have played in the NBA. I could really stroke the ball. Serious. Einstein and I have something in common.
I am tired tonight. More on my decision and preparations next post.
