An Ordinary Day!

January 20, 2007 Yesterday was just another ordinary day in our lives. It was different, however, because we saw it through the eyes of Robert’s sister, Monique. She is down here visiting this week and therefore gives a different perspective to the lives we lead daily. By ten o’clock in the morning there were people crowded around our desks and moving in and out of the kitchen/dining room. Nurali, a Mesketian Turkish man from Uzbek and most recently Russia arrived. Tea in my new Polish pottery teapot was presented with pistachios. He, Yama, and I drank tea and I listened to the two of them compare notes. They talked about the commonalties and differences of food, religion and music in their cultures. We looked up Turkish music and dancing on the internet. All the while we were talking Yama is eating burritos from the freezer for breakfast and pistachios are being popped into our mouths. Kham, a Laotian man who has been a friend of ours for years, came to check out things on the computer and play with our kids. While we sat in the office he was in the dining room with Monique and the kids talking with Monique and wrestling with the kids. The laughter from that room was loud. They were having fun. Eventually, Nurali and Robert left and spent the morning hours looking for a job for Nurali. Nurali was able to get his CDL/A driver’s license and is now able to drive a truck in America. He has been a truck driver all of his life. He drove truck both in Uzbekistan and Russia. Joy and Monique made lunch for all of the people in the house while Kham and Yama worked on the computers and I did school work with our kids as well as bookwork in between answering questions. Eventually we all moved to the dining room table and ate sloppy joes. Yama loves sloppy joes, we just keep yogurt in the fridge for him so he can add it to our food. (He loves it on Mac n cheese. Yuck! It looks disgusting!) By 2 o’clock, Kham had gone and Yama was preparing to leave to go to work. I had gone back to my kids school and bookwork and setting school registration appointments with Sue and Diane. Robert had come back to the office, eaten sloppy joes and gone again to move Prince from one high school to another. Prince is a Liberian young man who we first registered in school four years ago. His mom needs to work, if she misses work she misses money and her family can’t afford that so Robert and I are with this family often. In the late afternoon, Robert took some of the kids and Monique and they went on errands. I focused on my bookwork, prepared dinner and put it into the oven. Sebit came. Sebit is a man we have known for 11 years. He has a great story about life in Sudan. I will ask him someday if I can give it to you. He came to check in and see how we were. I talked with him for awhile. Robert and the kids showed up again. One of our kids greeted him with “Hi Sebit Bebit! and jumped on his lap. Robert landed for a few minutes but left after about half an hour and went to what I call court. His presence had been requested by Chief Musa, the Bantu chief. Robert went there. Sebit went to a prayer meeting and Monique, the kids and I ate dinner. Poor Robert, all of his food was reheated yesterday. I just realized it. That is truly an ordinary day in our lives. The only difference from yesterday and most days is that I got to stay home. Usually Robert & I tag team. He’s gone then comes and I leave and then back again.