A Very Happy Birthday

Well this New Year has started off busy. Stacy, our admin person, dealing with all money, salary, receipts, etc., was away for six-weeks over Christmas, so I have been keeping up with all of her stuff, as well as trying to stay on top of mine. To say that accounting skills are not my strength is an understatement. But somehow I managed and she came back on Sunday morning, much to my relief:)

Last week though, getting to celebrate my birthday here, was pretty special. Mind you, it was the first year out of the past six that I have not been skiing with Dad either on my birthday or a couple days give or take around my birthday – so inklings of missing home were definitely there. Thursday, on my birthday, I had to go be at Ekisa the whole day because Emily and Emily had to go to Kampala and Erika was at a training conference, so I got stuck holding down the fort. Which in all honesty is not much to complain about.

When I walked into Ekisa, a big group of the kids and mamas gathered around me and started singing Happy Birthday. I really wish I had it on video, because it definitely tops as my favorite Happy Birthday ever! The rest of the day I really spent as little time in the office as I could, with the exception of getting a few things done, and spent as much time getting cuddles from kids as possible. I think Rachel told me “Happy Birthday” every time I walked into a room the entire day with the amount of enthusiasm as the first time she saw me. Zeke told me “Birthday wo” (meaning “your birthday”) every time he saw me, and plenty of kids asked me where the cake was/when we were having it. Made me feel a little bit guilty that we weren’t even having cake until the next day, and sadly there wouldn’t be enough to share. That evening, Emily, Emily, Erika, Ditte, and I went out for a nice dinner and it was great to spend time with them, and feel loved and celebrated. Really thankful for each of their friendships.

Friday, I took the day to myself. A friend had sent me money for a “free day” to use however, and I found it on my birthday as I was getting out birthday cards that had been written to me before I left. So I used that money and treated myself to a Ugandan ‘spa day’ which included a mani, pedi, facial, and full body massage for the equivalent of $30! Only in Africa, I suppose! That night we had cake and played games with a couple more friends from around town, and it was really enjoyable. Saturday, Sam came over for the afternoon and while I cleaned my room, we listened to music and he drew me pictures, he helped me make food for dinner, we watched Peter Pan, and he finished my birthday cake from the night before. Fun birthday celebrations all around!

Twenty-three was a pretty great year, and I’m excited for twenty-four!