Two Weeks

Bok choy, lettuce, herbs, and friendly little marigolds

In the long list of Things That Must Be Done Before I Leave, a stack of library books has been my favorite “to do.” I finished Julia Child’s My Life in France yesterday and will start another Tim O’Brien today (reading all his books seems a worthy, and reachable, goal for the year). Julia’s book was so lovely and made me think all sorts of beautiful thoughts about travel and marriage and food and passion.

The less fun items on the list are the packing, the preparations around the house, the buying (not tying) of loose ends. I bought a GSM phone yesterday so I’ll be able to call home. Our team phone allotment is three minutes toward the middle of the trip. Last time, we had Robin’s phone and bought SIM cards for it and talked every evening; hopefully the phone I’ve bought will do the same trick. It will come in handy while traveling elsewhere too, or such is my hope. (Stay tuned for Spain! Oh, I can’t wait to share details!)

The last two weeks before a trip are my least favorite part about travel. You get all the downsides, the packing, the nerves, the endless lists, and none of the fun. At the team meeting on Sunday, our last before driving up to Raleigh, Rachael and I pronounced loudly our impending panic attacks, while Josh bounced around, excited as anything. I’ll be terribly excited—once I get on the plane and have time. For now, there are malaria pills to remember and teaching material to prepare and my book to finish (a draft, anyway).

Yesterday morning in the garden, Sharon and I put down a layer of newspaper and on top of that pine straw. The mulch is to keep down some of the weeds and help the soil hold on to more moisture. I can’t imagine what the garden will look like when I get back—two weeks is forever in garden-time. Sharon will have the garden to herself, and the work as well. Will tiny tomatoes be growing on delicate stalks? Will the all squash have flowered? How large will the basil get?

It feels like it’s June already, like I’ve skipped May. Hard to believe that half the month I’ll spend half the world away from this one, calling home at night, eating avocados and drinking lemongrass tea, while in my own back yard my garden grows without my attention.

Left: The bales before (you can see Story in the background, playing with a bottle of bubbles). Right: Sharon arranges the straw.

Left: Tomato! Right: Our "milk plants" (buried milk jugs with holes, to slowly release water).