perspective

"How was your day?"

The question seemed to come out of nowhere. I looked over at Norma, blinked at her, and turned back to her computer screen. Blinked again.

I had come to her house after work. We had to finalize the website content for Zimbabwe. But first we were selecting some pictures to include with an article that was going to be written about Reaching Hearts for Kids.

I arrived at her house around 6:30. Norma is Palestianian, raised in Jordan. Ingrained in her being is traditional middle eastern hospitality - she must offer me something to eat while I am in her home. (Currently her office is a tiny room in her apartment. We look forward to having a real office one day.) As I walked in her office she handed me a plate of sliced melons and some cake, and immediately began discussing what we had to get done. We both tend to be "let's get down to business" type of people. Though we have a high regard for each other, we don't always show it.

Anyway so we were working on the pictures. I'd already eaten most of the melon, while trying to resize some of the pictures so they'd be easier to email. When she asked how my day was, I was working on the picture entitled "Boy Crying Over Empty Bowl". She had received it a few months ago from a worker in Kenya, and thought it would be good to include in the article. I guess at that point she realized we'd skipped some pleasantries when I came in, and asked me how my day was.

Honestly, at that point, I had no clue. I looked at her, and back at the computer, and I couldn't even remember how my day was. What happened today? I didn't remember. Later on I remembered how depressed I'd been lately, how I'd been having trouble sleeping - which led to a lot of aches and grogginess during the day. I still would continue with all that, for the next few days. But you know, compared to the Boy with the Empty Bowl, my day was just fine. Compared to the little girls of Zimbabwe...my day was spectacular.