Lizard, Lizard on the Wall

I know that lizards are useful creatures to have around, however, sometimes they get a little too close. For instance, one day I was cooking dinner when I noticed that the plastic on my ceiling kept rattling around like there was something heavy walking on it. I've gotten fairly good at ignoring these strange (now routine) sounds so I kept on stirring and didn't give it a second thought. That was until 2 secs later that lizard lost its footing and instead of scurrying down the wall did a nosedive for my pot! Thankfully the crisis was avoided as his aim was a little off and he fell to the floor and not into my dinner.

Two days later I had another run in with a lizard. I was going about my business, washing my dishes (washing dishes is safe, right?) and was almost finished when I noticed that there was just one more knife at the bottom of the bucket. You can imagine my horror and utter disgust when I pulled out a dead lizard and not a knife! Miraculously I lived but not without being scarred. Not a day that I will soon forget. I had hoped that I might be able to live in my hut without ever coming face to face (literally) with a lizard. Silly me.

Aside from my encounter with the lizard, 2007 has been off to a rocky start. My grandmother who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's 8 years ago, passed away on Thursday, January 11. My grief was only compounded by the fact that I was so far away so I immediately decided to make arrangements to come home for the funeral and 48 hours later I was on a plane. The service was beautiful and was a wonderful tribute to a life well-lived. Being at home has been bittersweet for while I am happy to see family and friends I would have preferred it to be under better circumstances. While this is an incredible loss and will be felt for some time to come, I am fortunate for the time that we had together. I am who I am today because of my grandmother so I take comfort in the fact that she will always be with me.

After being at home for two weeks, I'm headed back to Burkina tomorrow. Lots of mixed feelings as you can imagine, especially since the Bears are going to the Superbowl this year. Can someone please take copious notes and tell me all about the commercials, oh yeah, and the game? : )

Go Bears!