There are other things he’s willing and capable of doing as well.  He puts the silverware away when I’m unloading the dishwasher and he helps to sort laundry and take things out of the dryer.  I’d like to begin teaching him to fold some small things like wash cloths and dishtowels.  I have begun to ask him to make up his bed in the mornings and he does this cheerfully.  He doesn’t do it perfectly or even particularly well.  The comforter is quite heavy and the bed is against the wall so it’s pretty tough but I put my hands behind my back to force myself not to straighten it out for him.

I’ve been told that heaps of praise are encouraging to little ones learning to do these things so I’m trying to always remember to thank him and commend him for jobs well done.  Of course he doesn’t have real chores or anything right now.  I just figure it’s never too early for him to learn these basic skills and I might as well take advantage of his “I can do it” attitude.

The hardest part for me is that it’s much easier and quicker for me to just pick the toys up myself.  I can fly through it.  When Asher does it he gets distracted about a hundred times (per minute – haha).  My hope is that the effort put forth now will pay off later.  When he wants to do things himself I always think he’s trying to take my job and I guess in some ways he is. 

Most of the time when we’re asked that question people are referring to food.  Our answer is rarely, if ever, a food item.  I think the amount of care packages we received really helped in that area.

The one thing I am enjoying above everything else (not including family and friends) is having a closet and dresser.  In Mbeya we crammed our clothes on a small set of bookshelves.  It’s soooo nice to have a good place to put clothes!

We are both enjoying the paved roads.  Sometimes I would dread going anywhere in Mbeya because getting to and from our house was so bumpy and uncomfortable.  The only thing close here is speedbumps.

Having the household appliances (especially the washer, dryer, and dishwasher) is really nice as well.  Not to mention the limitless electricity and water supply!

One day, early on, I did marvel at the fact that I could get chocolate anytime, anywhere.  I could have it every single day!  It’s always available!  Even though food hasn’t been our biggest enjoyment there is some level of security in that fact. 

I was standing on one of the aisles trying to make a decision on what to buy while keeping Asher from picking up every single toy and bottle and tearing the packages apart.  I noticed someone standing at the end of the aisle so I glanced up.  It was the drug store security officer.  He was watching me with his hands on his hips.  I smiled and went back to business until I realized he wasn’t walking away.  I glanced up several times.  Finally he asked me if I was finding everything okay.

I think he thought I was trying to steal something!!

I told him I was fine so he reluctantly walked away but sort of kept tabs on me.  Do I look that shady?  Or maybe we were in a shady area (but I don’t think we were) or maybe I was looking at frequently stolen items.  I don’t know but it was so obvious that he was suspicious of me.

As I was leaving the store I thought, “Well he could have stood there all day long watching me because I wasn’t going to do anything wrong.”  At least I had that going for me.  If you aren’t doing anything wrong you don’t have anything to worry about I suppose.

But I still wonder if I look like a thief.  Hmmm…  Can someone really focus on stealing when they’re also keeping up with a 2 year old?  Seems like if I wanted to lift something from a store I’d leave the toddler at home.  But I’m not up on my shoplifting knowledge so I could be wrong…

It’s not like I don’t have anywhere to go but it just doesn’t much matter to me if I get there seconds, or even minutes, earlier.  I’ll get there eventually.  I do still hate being late.  Africa can’t take that away from me.  But what has changed is the thought that the world is going to come crashing down if I don’t get somewhere on time.  The person I’m going to meet will forgive me right?

And there are so many cars here.  Lanes and lanes and lanes of cars and cars and cars.  Not to say there was nothing on the roads in Tanzania.  There were.  People and animals mainly.  Of course there were cars but not so many and people just didn’t seem in too big a hurry to get where they were headed.

I think I’ll stick to my new way of driving.  At least I don’t have to worry about getting a ticket.  And if I’m late in meeting you please forgive me.  I’ve still got a little Africa in my thinking.