The day started out early (about 5:30) with Joy tapping me and indicating that she "had to go wee-wee" - which seemed like a very reasonable request. We were up for good by 6:15(sleeping in for me by home standards but remember that Ghana is currently 5 hours ahead so that feels a lot like getting up at 1:15 which is early even for me).
Much of the day Joy was quite somber and I think her four year old brain was vacillating between being upset with me because I wasn't taking her home and looking to me as her source for comfort (which I suspect for her was odd because as best I can gather she doesn't spend time around men). My wife gave me some very good encouragement and also reminded me that this was an opportunity for Joy to learn that she could express to me any feeling and it would be returned with love and compassion - laying more groundwork for the future.
We (or mostly I) enjoyed a short afternoon distraction in the form of visiting the dental clinic of a friend here in Ghana (a very nice place with modern equipment and high levels of customer service). This was the clinic that sent most of their staff for BLS training this week so we had a nice group photo that will show up in their next newsletter.
The highlight of the day came toward the end when, in our new room with substantially better wifi signal strength, we had some good FaceTime sessions with family back home (Aunt/Uncle/Cousins; Mommy, and siblings). It was with Becky and the kids that Joy finally caved and let out many smiles and hammed it up for them in the way I knew she could. She's sleeping peacefully now and I'm praying for even more steps forward tomorrow. I'm definitely strengthening my bonds with this spunky, determined, wonderful little girl (even is she's not consistently fond of me right now -- probably a preview of the teenage years ;-) ).
One more thing, I'll admit that I stooped to some classical American parenting tactics today -- using the iPad for a few games and yes we watched Frozen together. I don't think Joy knew what to make of all that white stuff on the ground everywhere -- she better get used to it since she'll be a Minnesotan.
So much for short..............
You are all important to me and I appreciate you taking the time to read my ramblings.
Jay
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