jja jja / mama

There are too many awful visuals swimming around in my head this evening/early morning. Too many hours of CNN today.

I need to plant some happier pictures in this brain of mine so I can fall asleep.

I got a new name when I was in Uganda this last December: Jja Jja. It means grandmother in Lugandan.

Here are the beautiful faces that belong to some of the young people I think about constantly: Henry, who may or may not call me Jja Jja when the time comes, and the kids at the orphanage who call me Mama Gloria. Thinking of them, as well as my children Abbie, Sam and Max, reminds me that my little slice of the world is indeed a good and wondrous one.





My heart aches, as I know yours does too, for the millions of people in Japan whose lives have been broken. What can we really do at this early juncture but fully appreciate what we have. With that strength, we will then move forward to do what we can to help.