Play Dates With Friends and Family

Although we're already settled back in Ghana after arriving on New Years Day (yes, we spent New Years Eve over the Atlantic Ocean...not nearly as exciting as I had anticipated), I finally have a moment to breathe and post an entry of our last few days in Athens with my family. The last week was a whirlwind of shopping for gifts for people in Ghana, buying necessities for us that we cannot find here, and saying goodbye to friends and family. Even though the 5 almost 6 weeks we had back home seemed like plenty of time, towards the end it always feels hectic and rushed as we try to cross off a zillion "to-do's".

But despite the frenetic pace of things, we really enjoyed seeing old friends, letting Eli have some play dates with my friends' children, and treasuring the moments my parents got to spend with Eli. I got to spend some time with one of my earliest childhood friends, Sarah, who I only reconnected with in Athens while I was pregnant after not seeing her since we were in 2nd grade. She has a beautiful 1 year old, Rebecca, and so we had a couple of outings and play dates with her and Eli. Rebecca is full of energy and personality and was really good at giving hugs to Eli (who unfortunately does not yet know how to reciprocate and fortunately, Rebecca, does not yet get offended).



Chris, Rebecca's husband, captured Eli's attention with this funny puppet.


We also got a play date in with my very good friend Leslie's son, Charlie, who is about 15 months. They live in Raleigh and were in town for Christmas. He is a little dynamo and was zooming all around Eli who just was trying to keep up.





Alan and I also got to visit with some close friends that I went to middle and high school with, Delene and Emily. Delene and her husband, Killick, live in a beautiful area with wooded trails right outside their back door. We rented a backpack for Eli and had a beautiful walk with them and their dog, Yummy. Eli loved his backpack and insisted on pulling my hair the whole time until I realized I had a hood on my sweatshirt and soon that was the end of that game.




In between play dates and crazy shopping and errands, we watched my parents savor every moment with Eli whether it was feeding time or reading time or just plain being silly time.





I know it is extremely difficult for both of our parents to be so far away from Eli and to see him in person so infrequently. It also makes me sad as well but I know it's not forever and these experiences we're having traveling the world are also very important for us. And plus, it makes our visits back home to see them that much more special and memorable...and thank goodness for Skype!

So it's back to the reality of returning to life in Ghana and all that comes with it...