I was there.

I opened the garage door to my house to find piles of my old stuff that I had saved in boxes for the last eight months. Going through my possessions was like shopping for free and I was delighted to realize that I have:
a) pretty good taste
b) been resourceful in buying things on sale during the 'feast' days for the 'famine' days (this applies to everything from powdered milk to a great pair of heels)
c) a tendency to keep old papers. Lots of them.

I managed to collect four garbage bags worth of possessions that I will rid myself of either through:
a) a garage sale
b) eBay
c) donations
d) all three

Very quickly, I find myself right back in the groove of Los Angeles, although descending into the bowels of the cavernous Bed Bath and Beyond on the Westside was still very overwhelming. The 'beyond' part definitely lives up to its name... especially when you're able to find everything from condoms to an avocado slicer to a pepper grinder in one place.

With being back in the groove comes a sense of lust for everything our society insists we need. I had a salesgirl insist that I take advantage of the current sale in such a tone that if I did not, very bad things would happen. Very bad things.

Nothing has happened, but I will say the subconscious (or maybe conscious) efforts to make me perceive that I live an underwhelming life without the deluxe avocado slicer has a way of seeping into my brain. My friend Charlotte says that there is an actual academic term for this syndrome. That way which one feels when they see others have the pizza slice warmer, Mercedes, and extra half bath (God knows those things all go together, right?) while they are sufficiently living off $15,000 a year but ... feel like just maybe they are missing out on something. Like the benefit of that extra toilet, per se.

Life in the first world has slowly edged out some memories of my six months in Africa. And though I have much proof that I was there, the sameness of everything back home makes it almost feel like I never left. Of course, the evidence of my photos, my memories, my stories and that ache in my heart from missing Liberia are all testimonies to my time there. Oh, and one more thing ... .

If you get a mailer from Mercy Ships regarding holiday giving this season, there's a card inside that you can fill out. They send those back to Africa and we distribute them to the patients. And whose mug should be there this holiday season? See if you can spot a familiar face.