The 21st of July and our departure for Rwanda is suddenly looming quite large. Two weeks and change… Feels slightly unreal, and yet at the same time very, very real in that deadline-ish way.
The first signs that it was getting closer was when we started buying stuff at the supermarket with a “sell by” date past our departure date. Must. Eat. Yogurt. Now. Now it’s things like “free shipping from Amazon won’t get here before we leave unless you order today.”
Much more painful was the sudden realization this morning that I’ve only got ten or so more morning walks left with Lucky before she heads off for her extended sleepover with our generous friends in Fairlee, VT who have offered to take care of her while we’re away. She’ll have a blast, and it’ll be nice to have six months without the responsibility — but it’s almost inconceivable not to have the morning routine of waking up to take her for a walk, throwing some tennis balls and just enjoying some quiet time with man’s best friend. I think I’ll miss that predictable start to the day more than anything else.
Yes, we did consider the option of bringing her along, and if we had been going to Rwanda for a year or two, we most likely would have done so. But really, for six months, it would have been too much for her to endure the flights back and forth — it’s a solid 24 hours in transit when all is said and done, and involves a transfer in Amsterdam as well an unspecified amount of time getting cleared through customs in Kigali. That’s nobody’s idea of fun, especially not a furry and reluctant four-legged traveler. Add to that the uncertainty of how she’d deal with six months of not being able to roam as freely as she does here at home (Kigali is a city, it’s busy, it’s full of people, and they don’t necessarily take to pets the way we do) and you have a recipe for A Very Bad Time.
But as she lies here at my feet (on my feet, actually, and it’s probably just shy of 90 degrees at my desk), content just to have someone to hang out with, I’m coming to realize what will be missing every day we’re away. Sigh.
