What do these all have in common?
Umm...Nothing, really. Except that each thing has a bearing on our lives right now.
Babies
NO, I AM NOT PREGNANT. On the contrary, I am happily the mother of one rambunctious boy and am praying to my gracious Heavenly Father for the energy to take care of just one.
No, it's my friend Katharina who has just delivered a darling baby girl. I don't know Katharina very well, but she is also a Niger wife (foreign woman married to a Nigerian man) and got married a few months after David and I did. She's from Germany and is quite a delightful person. We bonded a bit after I sent her a text that she should come get some of my baby things. I ended up giving her some clothes and blankets plus sundry items that those of you who have delivered may remember from your own experiences. (Excuse me for not elaborating. If you've delivered, you can probably guess, and if not, never mind.) She asked me lots of questions about labour and delivery, and I felt like a real expert.
She was due January 2, so early last week, I started carrying my phone around with me wherever I went, just in case. (The hospital is a five-minute walk from our house, so I'd offered to be available in case Katharina and her husband Israel needed anything during the delivery.)
Wednesday evening, David, Timoth, and I took an evening stroll and saw Katharina's car at the maternity ward. When we stopped in the ward, we heard a nurse say that the gynaecologist was sewing someone up after a delivery. David knew then that it was Katharina! When we got home, I sent a text reminding her that we'd love to help. She called an hour or two later to say that yes, she'd delivered a baby girl, and they were hungry. So I took them down some dinner and got to meet beautiful Baby Jireh. What a precious gift! Hearing about the labour, I was really struck with how easy mine was! It was hell on earth, but it was short, compared to most first-baby deliveries. (Poor Katharina was in labour for 16 hours!) And I was also reminded that I do not want to have another baby anytime soon!! But here's to Jireh and her strong parents!
Kittens
I keep forgetting to mention that our cat, Caramel Macchiato (who has become my parents' cat) is pregnant! She's about to burst, as far as I can tell, but then I've never actually had a pregnant cat before. We have no experience with feline births or kittens. I'll be sure to post when she delivers, but in the meantime, I'm welcoming suggestions and advice from experienced cat doulas.
Eye doctors
David and I both got to visit our eye doctor this week. I say "our" not because I've been to him several times but because he's a neighbour I've known for over ten years. He's not actually an ophthalmologist proper but has had eye training and holds some sort of diploma. To me, he's as good as an ophthalmologist.
It sure was different from visiting the eye doctor in the States. For one thing, it was a lot cheaper! But aside from that, it was just a much more pleasant experience. I didn't get any eye drops, and that made all the difference. It was kind of fun to put on the pair of frames that had empty slots of lenses instead of using the big machine that eye docs use in the States. More than that, though, when the optometrist tried different lenses on me, I could read three letters on the line below 20/40!!
I guess that calls for some explanation. My mom's side of the family has a history of congenital optic nerve atrophy, where the optic nerve degrades over time. I've worn glasses since 2nd grade, but my eyesight has never been better than 20/40 even when corrected. If your vision is 20/20 or better, there is no way I can make you understand what it's like to need glasses. Without my glasses, I can't see the letter on top of the chart. In fact, the nurse had to be about five feet away before I could even tell how many fingers she was holding up. We're talking about being blind as a bat, seeing only shapes and colors. I can't even read a book without needing my glasses. And when the optometrist took my glasses away to measure the lenses, I nearly had a panic attack. Being without those little bits of shaped plastic is like being deaf or mute or paraplegic. I had to keep my eyes closed as much as possible because only then can I not tell that my glasses are removed. It's awful--tight chest, watery eyes, quickened pulse. I was sure glad to get my glasses back.
And I was glad to hear that new lenses might be able to allow me to see three letters better than 20/40! Yeah! David got glasses, too, but he doesn't think he'll really need to wear them. His vision is better than 20/40 without glasses! I hope Timothy has inherited David's eyes and not mine.
Denied Diplomas
David has applied to his school for a replacement diploma and has been informed that the school doesn't give replacements, ever. But after consulting the organisation that will license David to practice, we understand that a letter from the university dean saying as much will suffice. Phew. David will go to Zaria tomorrow to apply for that letter in person, and he'll be gone a day or two if we're lucky. So hopefully we'll still apply for David's USMLE steps, and he'll take them this spring and summer. But we're also applying for him to do an accelerated BS in Nursing, just in case.
So much going on!! Between all this and packing and sorting... We've already sent two boxes of books with a friend who traveled Thursday, and I'm so relieved. We also have prospects to take two more small boxes of books. It'll all work out somehow. We leave Jos in 14 days, the country in 16 days. Kai!
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