ONE Mom blogger Liz Gumbinner is traveling in Ethiopia with ONE this October. This piece, originally published on Mom 101, is part of our ongoing coverage of the trip.
I can’t stop thinking about that scene in the Ten Commandments when Charlton Heston emerges from his little chat with a burning bush on Mount Sinai, all white-haired, glassy-eyed and God-struck. It’s probably the worst, most easily misinterpreted metaphor ever (zomg Liz thinks she’s Moses), but I felt a bit like that stepping off the Air Ethiopia plane onto American soil–or airport regulation linoleum–yesterday.
It’s part jet lag (oy, the jet lag) and part culture shock (how weird–everyone on the street is wearing shoes) but I think it’s mostly this feeling that everything is different now.
It’s hard to explain it. But it’s as if all these loose ends in my life came together this week: family dynamics. Old friendships. New friendships. Work in Sarajevo. Branding expertise. Political interests. A commitment to other mothers. Two children to raise. An open heart. A need to do something more. I don’t know where it’s going, just that it’s going.
Don’t worry, my hair hasn’t turned white. It’s just really dirty.
This morning I can’t seem to manage to take off my ONE bracelets for work. They look so incongruous in an executive office of a New York ad agency. But they feel like a piece of me.
I just returned from Ethiopia courtesy of ONE, a nonpartisan advocacy organization fighting extreme poverty and preventable disease, especially in Africa. They never ask for your money, only your voice. Please sign up at the ONEMoms blog. You don’t even have to be a mom!
Related Posts: What Mothers Want for Their Children * The Unbelievable Strength of Women * Ethiopia Day 1
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While I gather my thoughts for final posts about Ethiopia, any questions about our trip?
