After spending four years in Ethiopia, my daughters and I returned to the United States for an extended home leave. We are selfishly enjoying the privileges and luxuries of our US American life, but yet the impact of Ethiopia doesn’t vanish that quickly. The most recent sane-shocking moment has to do with water. The water system in our town is being cleaned, which means that for several days this week we’ve had mineral dense and murky brown …
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The child behind the bride
In a grassy field splattered with patches of tiny lilacs in Ethiopia, I sat next to a twelve year old girl. She watched me out of the corner of her eye, just as I watched her out of the corner of mine. She was making a bracelet out of lilacs and, when she finished weaving the stems together, she slipped it over my wrist. Her face lit up with a smile when I told her that the bracelet, like her, was beautiful. For a moment, I saw the child behind …
Gaza Balls
It’s been over a week since Israeli shells took the lives of four boys playing soccer on a Gaza beach. I keep searching the Internet, but I can’t find a picture of their ball. It's a silly search, but an important one for me. You see, I know those boys had to be playing with what I call a Gaza ball because, really, there is no other option. Still, pain always seeks proof, and I hope that actually seeing their ball will somehow help me to navigate …