Today I will remember

Today, when I think of Uganda,
I will remember the smiles
and the laughter and the hugs,
and the voices
that make my familiar language
into something so beautiful and foreign.

I will remember
being surrounded by so many children,
always so many children,
who grab my legs, insist on my attention,
cover me in dirt, and snot,
and whatever they are eating at that moment.

In my memories, I will watch them trace
the veins on the top of my hands,
the darkness of their fingers
making my skin look so very white
even to me.

I will watch and wait for a child's face
to appear in the doorway
and hear the words "may I please enter?"

Today I will say "yes" to all of them,
and I will join in the laughter and the hugs
becoming part of the craziness
as my heart fills with so much more
than I thought it could possibly hold.

Today I choose to remember
the resilience of happy, healthy, hopeful children,
and I will be a witness --
looking beyond what they have lost
and recognizing what they have gained.

By doing so,
by first noticing and then remembering,
I will become part of their world,
even for a short time and then maybe
Uganda will not seem quite so far away.