Mother's Day 2008

It is Mother’s Day weekend and I am missing my two sons in America. They have had two birthdays since we left Los Angeles. As we have changed through the Peace Corps experience, they have changed in ways we do not know. They have found new support systems and are independent men. We missed two years of their lives; likewise we missed two years of American life and culture. Our youngest son Alex has graduated from UCLA and is on the job hunt. Our oldest son, Erik, has worked as a Manhattan attorney for 4 years and is shooting for a partnership in his law factory. So congratulations to Alex and Erik. Thanks for letting your parents realize their dream. We will be home soon and will take another stab at parenting. Sorry for the absence!

Peace Corps volunteers miss the daily contact with friends and family and the family events that weave society together. However, other volunteers and new adopted families fill the void left from loved ones at home. This weekend two volunteers visited Mountain High and the laughter began as soon as they stepped off the bus. We would never have met these two great pals had we not joined Peace Corps as one is a new college grad in his 20’s with an interest in music and biology and the other a fortyish film producer from Michigan. What would these two Americans have in common with a coot couple from Palos Verdes? Well, the conversation and fun started immediately after they arrived and continued the whole weekend as we hiked the steep treks at Mountain High and ventured through the nearby indigenous forest with cool shady canopies, waterfalls, delicate white orchids and fern grottos. They both love hiking, nature, adventure and discovery. They squealed with delight at the 5” brown locust with chartreuse beading around his neck, just like four-year-olds. They were game for climbing rocks, trees and cadging avocados from the huge tree on the hospital site. As good Peace Corps volunteers, not a complaint was uttered about sleeping on the hard floor or the lack of water.

Peace Corps teaches more than patience and flexibility-one learns to have fun and to enjoy the company of unlikely companions. These two volunteers have shared our experience and have the same issues about the complexity of life in South Africa (we love it except when we hate it), trouble with NGOs and the tragedy of AIDS. Together we have all seen unspeakable suffering and so many needless deaths. They are also interested in helping the world and saving the environment. They speak freely, without cynicism, about income generation for the poor and renewable resources. Peace Corps volunteers may not “save the world” but they do have success in passing on first world skills and showing the positive determination of Americans to their colleagues and friends.

Our Peace Corps guests entertained the patients with origami, yoga, and a delightful fable in Zulu about a couple who was granted three wishes as a reward for freeing a monkey’s tail. The moral of the fable was to be careful what you wish for. As we return to the United States we are full of wishes and hopes for the future. How will we fit back into our home community? What will our lives look like a year from now? One thing that we have learned; one’s happiness and joy of living are not based on external conveniences; the absence of convenience may cause annoyance and frustration but not unhappiness. Whereas, access to conveniences does not bring happiness or satisfaction. American lives are full of stress and difficulty in spite of the affluence and amenities. Our lives here have been very simple, but intensely rewarding. We have found a purpose for every day-can the same be said for our comfortable lives in the US?