A Day in the Life

A few of my family members, mainly my mom, have been asking for weeks what a “normal day” looks like for me and the kids.  So, here goes:

6:00am – I wake, hopefully before the kids, but the sun comes up around 6 too, so we’re usually all up soon.  I think the kids aren’t sleeping in much because it is usually pretty hot in their room, and once they wake, they are up for good.  Nate works out at the pool with a few guys some mornings, and on the other mornings, I try to go for a quick run (in an athletic skirt!! because we are in view of the hospital and women don't normally wear pants in this part of Togo) before the sun is too intense.

7:30 – Nate heads to the hospital for morning rounds followed by scheduled surgeries.  The boys walk to the sheep pasture to feed their beloved sheep.

8:00 – Kids start on schoolwork and I do a quick Bible time with them.  A few mornings a week, Denise, a Togolese young woman, comes to our house to help with some cooking and cleaning.  She is wonderful!  Her English is limited, and my French is even more limited, so it can be a challenge to let her know what I would like her to help with each day.  Typically, she sweeps the floor (the dust is unbelievable and builds up like crazy when the windows are open), washes dishes, washes and bleaches vegetables and makes a Togolese tomato and peanut sauce for us.

9:00 – I take Truman and Fiona out to swing or play for a break.

10:00 – The older boys need some help with school, so I distract Fiona with a tub of water on the back porch and she plays while I help Avery and Finley with their questions and work with Truman on his sight words and reading.

11:30 – The kids are pretty much finished with their schoolwork, so they read or play ipad games while I figure out lunch.  Even heating up leftovers for lunch can be an ordeal with multiple pots and pans on the stove.  I miss my microwave!

12:30 – Nate comes home for lunch and usually has an hour or so before he heads back to the hospital for afternoon clinic.  We are staying a couple hundred yards from the hospital, so it easy for him to go back and forth.

2:00 – While Fiona is napping, I try to prep dinner so we can be outside late afternoon when the temperatures cool a little.  I catch up on email if the internet is working and sometimes read a book aloud to the older kids.  Avery and Finn let the sheep out to graze and keep an eye on them so they don’t end up inside the hospital.  The boys have also done way more reading here than they would at home.  There is a small “library” at one of the nearby houses, books donated from all kinds of places, and the kids have read some really great books.

4:00 – We head to the pool.  It is tough to be outside during the middle of the day, so we try to maximize our time outside from 4-6pm.  The other missionary families who live in town or on the hospital compound are usually there as well, so the kids have friends to swim with.  There are twin 12-year-old girls, Abby and Ali, who love Fiona and are pretty amazing babysitters to her.  She usually prefers them over me when they are around.

Abby handmade this kitty shirt for Fiona...she is so sweet!!

5:30 – Nate is hopefully home to play baseball with the boys.  They love this time with him.

6:00 – Dinner, then maybe a game or movie or ping pong at the guesthouse.  Nate is on call every other day, so he is sometimes at the hospital if patients aren’t doing well or a new surgical patient comes in.  He operates after normal work hours only a few times a week, but the surgical volume is quickly picking up as the word gets out about the quality healthcare offered here.

8:30 – Boys head to bed and I spend at least an hour grading their work from the day and assigning work for the following day.  This has been more time-consuming than I expected.  Not having true homeschool curriculum or teacher’s manuals means I am reading the textbook to make sure Avery has all the facts straight about the French & Indian War.  At least I have learned a few things myself, including how to do that crazy lattice multiplication method that is so head-scratching to all parents of 3^rd graders!

So that's my life the past couple months.  The routine isn't exciting, but we have had some pretty memorable times as a family that will definitely be laughed about for years to come.  Because we are so isolated and recreation options are severely limited, we have spent a lot of time just...together, talking about patients at the hospital and what God is doing in this area of the world.  I feel like I know each of the boys better than I did a few months ago and going through their schoolwork with them each day has given me insight to their strengths and gifts.  These benefits help me keep perspective when I am dripping in sweat. :)