If you follow me you know that this is Mirembe.
She was on my mind this morning because I haven't received an update in awhile. I guess my thoughts were prophetic in nature. I had told her story briefly in an e-mail. Minutes later I got an update in an e-mail that was totally unrelated. As I expected she isn't doing well. Her father tells us that she is weaker and weaker by the day. I of course am sitting in my comfortable American home sobbing quietly as to not disturb my beautiful healthy child. I want more than anything to hop a flight to Uganda and just hold her in my lap for a long time. Of course this isn't possible or practical. I hoped that one day my dear Lilia would meet my sweet Mirembe.
In case you are one of the three people I haven't told about Mirembe, let me tell you. In July of 2008 I traveled to Uganda where I met Mirembe. She had just been adopted by our friends with whom we were staying. Her biological parents abandoned her because of her Sickle Cell Anemia. Mirembe captured my heart the moment my eyes met hers. They held a wisdom and fear that was not common for a child of her age. I played with her a lot the week we spent together and on the last afternoon, she laughed as we played. Laughter that still echos in my head. She taught me how much love I was capable of. I came home from that trip knowing that I could love any child as my own, which was a huge personal milestone. Not a day goes by where I don't think of her. Her story has much more complexity but I don't have the energy to type it.
Days like today I wish I could hold her or grant some magic genie like miracle.
Mirembe has never been mine, but the love I feel tells a different story.
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