Tomorrow at this time...

In less than 24 hours from now I will be starting my journey... WOW!!! I am freaking out here ;-)... My gut is excited, nervous, anxious, happy. I am going through so many emotions. I'm feeling the same way I did the last time I cancelled my trip thinking it was a "bad gut feeling".

These feeling are throwing my whole body off... maybe it's my blood pressure? I just need to breath....lol!!! I'm sure once I start my trek I will be fine. Once I get to my destination and have Tamaya in my arms I will feel 100 times better..lol

This time I'm not feeling like anything bad will happen and am obviously going. (I am certainly NOT going to Google Haiti kidnapping on-line news this time..lol, I'm sure last time that just added insult to injury, I did hear from numerous people that the kidnappings have declined quite a bit.)

Haiti for me is so unbelievable. It's my children's birth country therefore I will always feel like it is part of our lives. It is certainly a country that has many hardships, but despite the poverty there is so much beauty. The people I met were just so beautiful, both inside and out. They were so full of life despite their circumstances. Everyone seems to have a smile on their face. The sounds in the distance are of Haitian music and people laughing. You see farm animals everywhere. Women carrying buckets of things on their head while walking. You hear laughter of children everywhere. It's a very simple life, but a beautiful one. The wonderful Haitian people that I have met and grown to love, live for the moment. They do what they can with what they have.

Last year while I was there, Marijke and I were walking in the village and went over to one of her staff's house to say hello, bring her a gift and see her new baby. She was home after delivering her baby a couple weeks prior. She was so very proud of her home. A 3 room home with a kitchen, bedroom and living room/bedroom. Her home looked like a mishmash of hardware stuck together. Her home was smaller then my parents camper and I beleive she has 4 children(?)... she was so proud of it. Marijke later confirm that it certainly was one of the nicer homes.

While walking in the village every one said hello... everyone, asked "how are you today?" Everyone had a smile.

As we walked further through the village just up the road was a ravine that was down a hill and there was a dozen or so ladies chit-chatting and doing their laundry. It was their "social" gathering. The women get together, do laundry, gossip and then go home..lol.

I am looking forward to another Haiti experience, Haiti has a way of slapping you upside the head and making you ask yourself some pretty hard questions... like...
What in the world do you have to complain about?, or Why in the world would I feel like you need more of this or that? It really makes you appreciate all those little things that simply become part of your everyday life that you don't even notice anymore.