one month

At our staff meeting on Monday, I announced to the Sseko-ladies that I'm moving back to the US. I thought that I could stand up there, totally casually, and just you know, relay the information. Keep it cool. Keep it classy. But I totally started crying. I was standing up there, looking into their beautiful faces, and got that cracking, high pitched, crying-girl voice as I told them that I loved them and have loved my past year-plus of working along side them at Sseko. But then I pulled it together enough to use my normal voice and apologize for getting emotional a month early... and then we all laughed over my teary eyes and moved on with the weekly announcements.

But telling the girls made it real... that in less than a month I'll be moving back to the US. I'll be in Austin, looking for a new job, learning a new place, and making new friends. This is going to be a big transition. And I've been feeling all over the map about it. The feelings of excitement are mingled in with feelings of sadness.

I'm not going to write a "reflections" blog just yet, because I still have time here. I don't want to start a count down or anything like that, because I want to be present where I am. And making that hard announcement to the Sseko ladies made me want that even more... Not to check out. To stay engaged in my work and my relationships here until I board the plan... To really soak up my last month in Uganda.

A month can be full of so many things, and I am so looking forward to exploring this one.