a little more...

It is too early to be awake, but in a far off land, hours ahead of here, two people I love just might be settling down to lunch. Or catching a few last winks of sleep before they disembark the airplane and make footprints in the dusty African earth. Perhaps... she is finally breathing in that sweet smoky I'm in Africa air. If I close my eyes, I can almost smell it myself.

Part of my heart is there with them... as I watch their clock and keep the itinerary close at hand. A quick We're here email from my Mom swirled a rush of giddy through my soul and stirred up some of the beautiful in my mind. A friend mentioned that she had hoped I might have a few more stories of Africa to share, and as my heart chases my parents across the world, I realize that this just might be the time to share a little more...

The road climbed up and up through the morning fog. My eyes drifted shut and then opened quickly, catching myself from true sleep. Seeing only the cars in front of us on the narrow road, I let myself drift back to darkness... for just a few minutes. But when we jolted to a stop, and a large bull elephant was the cause of traffic, weariness vanished and excitement overtook me.

The treetops hovered flat, creating a lush green canopy, and it was as beautiful to me as anything I had seen. Acacia trees, like giant bonsai lined the crest of the crater... and as we made our way up and then over, each breath was a gasp. Since we had arrived, the magnitude and vastness of Africa itself amazed me at every turn... and yet, somehow, travelling down into the crater magnified it further.  And my smallness, in this great wide world, was more apparent than ever.