Daughters Who Visit

I have had the most wonderful life.  I grew up with 2 loving parents and 5 siblings.  My family lived and grew in the 60s when for the most part it was the generation where the moms stayed home and the dads went to work.  In my neighborhood and a whole lot of America at that time.  I was in third grade in 1963.  I am a middle child...my older brother is Larry and my older (&only) sister is Tina, and then there are 3 more brothers younger than me.  Mike, Chris & Les in that order.  Paul Michael, Francis Christoper, and Leslie David.  Somehow I just felt the need to list these younger sibs by all their names.   Paul Michael has always gone by Mike, Francis Christopher goes by Chris, (Francis was my dad's first name) and Leslie goes by Les.  Anyway...it was a good life and I always felt loved and secure and well cared for.  I didn't feel dysfunctional at all.  For the record.  

So then I grew up and got a college degree and got a job as a special education teacher living at the beach, on Maryland's Eastern Shore (God's Country) for the record!  Then I got married and had 2 beautiful daughters and then I got divorced and raised these wonderful girls on my own.  Then life just F L E W  by and a 33 1/2 year teaching career just  W H I Z Z E D by!

So,  then my Bonny went off to college in California,,,and then moved there...and then my Anna  went off to Bulgaria with Peace Corps!  That was almost 2 years ago!!!  Can you believe it?

Then I decided to retire from teaching and go to Jordan in Peace Corps!  Did you ever ask yourself:

WHAT WAS SHE THINKING???  Because I sure do!!!  So, I arrived in Jordan on October 25, 2010.  Now today's date if April 17, 2011!  It is Palm Sunday, and of course next Sunday is Easter.  Last Easter I was in King George, Virginia at my niece Erin's house.  That is my favorite place in the world to be on Easter Sunday...am missing it this year.

I miss my family.  My wonderful happy Peace Corps daughter named Anna Kathleen came to Jordan on April 6, 2011 to spend a week with me in Jordan.  I mean it doesn't get any better than that.  Well, maybe if both daughters were here it would be better but it was wonderful to have my Anna and to sit and talk with her and reflect about life in Peace Corps, her service almost at the end of her service and mine at the beginning...almost the 6th month mark.  We talked much,,,laughed MUCH,,,,so good to laugh with her.  We ate good food.  We traveled to South Jordan to one of the 7 wonders of the world, the lost city of Petra.  I have posted a few of the pictures here on the blog.  I am not very savvy at navigating through the blog and figuring out how to post like a whole album of pictures.  I have put a few choice ones here on the blog.  The albums of the Anna visit and our time in Jordan are on both my facebook pages and also Anna's.  I have shared over Anna's album of pictures so if you can get to my page you can see all the pix.

Daughters who visit you from one continent  to another make your week...as a matter of fact they make like the last 6 months of your life worthwhile.  I have had the best life.  It continues to go on.  I miss my people back home SOOOOO SOOOO MUCH!  I miss all of you.  I MISS my MOM majorly!  I miss my little sweet great nieces.  I MISS  everyone.  I am happy so happy for the resurrected Christ!  Easter is new beginnings.  I love the warm weather...though I may not be saying that in maybe another month or so here in the desert of Mafraq,  Jordan!

Anna arrived in Amman, Jordan in the middle of the night April 6, 2011.  Later on that day we got on a bus and headed south for a 3 1/2 hour bus ride to south Jordan to the village called Wadi Musa, which is the town at the top of the hill from the entrance to Petra.  We toured Petra all day on Thursday, April 7, 2011.  We stayed 2 nights in Wadi Musa and then we headed back on Friday to Amman, Jordan to spend the night there and tour around Amman that Saturday, before  heading north to my city of Mafraq later that afternoon.  Anna came back to my apartment with me and went to the special education center where I work for 2 days.  And we ate, and laughed and watched movies together.  We talked about what is in our hearts and we laughed and hugged each other.
Then she had to go back to Bulgaria.

That  is my life up til now folks.  Please keep praying for my family.  I am praying back for all of you.  I love you all so much and miss all of you and miss America.  God Bless!!!