# 49 July 27th- Monday

I decided to rest my eyes for a few minutes and ended up sleeping for an hour and a half. We got up early, around 5:30. We boarded our coaster and headed to the Entebbe airport. Everything went smoothly. Matt headed off to Kenya to meet up with his girlfriend Emily. He was a really good roommate. We didn’t stay up late at night talking all the time, but we worked well together and I learned so much from him. He is really one of the best English teachers I’ve ever seen in action. His students must love him.
We had breakfast in the airport and got ready to leave.
The flight from Entebbe to London lasted about 8 hours. I watched a bunch of movies. I Love you Man, the Watchmen, and Duplicity. I nodded off through that last one. I sat next to a woman from Orange County who was a nurse on a medical mission in the south of Uganda. She was there with her daughter. I’d love to return to Uganda with my family someday.
In London we had a brief stop over. There was a direct flight to Los Angeles, but I could not get on because my bags had been checked to New York. I tried though. On this flight I watched the Simpsons movie, but I fell asleep for most of the flight. Michael ended up sitting next to a very large and smelly man. He was not a happy camper. When we got to New York I found out that I couldn’t really stay in the airport overnight so I took up Michael’s offer to share a room at the hotel. I’m so glad that worked out. I took a warm shower, shaved, had a nice conversation, and got a few hours of sleep. I left at 5am for my 6:30 flight to Los Angeles. I could not sleep a wink on this fight. I tried not to want to be home on time for fear that there would be a delay. But finally, we touched down and I was not far from my girls.
When I came down the escalator to the baggage claim I heard Jenai squeal. I was home!!!! Lisa looked more radiant than ever. Julia and Jenai were stuck to my sides like two very tan magnets. Terri drove the girls out and gave me a huge hug to welcome me home. I sat between my girls in the back on the way home. We went out to lunch for a burrito at Sharkey’s in Irvine. It was an adjustment coming back to a place without dust everywhere. It is a different world, but with my family near, it is home. In the afternoon we took a swim. Jenai learned how to swim this summer. We went out to Claimjumper’s for dinner. I had fried zucchini and a wedge of lettuce with blue cheese dressing and bacon. It was amazing. I wasn’t much for conversation. I crashed hard on the chair when we went home. Lisa planned a nice getaway for us in San Diego where we went to reconnect and relax. It was everything we hoped it would be. After visiting with family on Saturday we drove home on Sunday. Someone had made a very nice sign for my return. It was a really nice thing to do. So now we are home. School will start soon and Uganda seems a world away. I’m going to attempt to summarize what I learned and valued on the trip in my final enter. Thanks to anyone who took the time to read these scattered thoughts. I hope you found some encouragement through the stories I’ve shared.