After an 8 month sojourn in Atlanta, I must admit I am ecstatic to be returning home to Bulawayo in a couple of days!!!

I will miss my family here terribly, especially my 9 month old Tornado Grandchild, but there are so many things I have missed from home....

I have missed my wonderful staff, they have been so supportive from afar, sending me photos of my spring garden, sending Lincoln a beautiful Christmas gift, managing the horrendous storms, even working at night to outwit the leaking roof, and generally maintaining the status quo at home through thick and thin.

I missed the glorious drenching rain, the thunderstorms, and sadly, our best rainy season in countless years. How I would have loved to have stood on the bridges along the Matsheumslope and seen them absolutely flooding, how I would loved to have joined the scores of Matabeles who made the 'Rain Pilgrimage' to the Ncemas, to Mtshabezi, to Umzingwane and Mayfair.

I have missed the Matopos, the lichen, the water pouring off the rocks, that ethereal quiet and serenity, the damp pungent smell of the earth that only that precious place can bring during the rains.

I have missed the birdsongs, especially the Heuglins Robin....the Carolina Chikadee's song is gorgeous but absolutely no comparison. I have missed my little black kitty, she now follows Joyce like a little shadow and even sleeps with Joyce on a cold winter night if HeeHoo is also away.

Biltong !! the American beef jerky is absolutely no comparison and I wolfed the piece that Uncle Dave brought from his treasured home-made stash in Dallas.

I have missed the people, the solid, no nonsense Bulawayo folk who stay steadfast through the stresses and strains of zimbabwe life, through disaster after disaster. I missed the smiling faces of the sellers at the traffic lights, the merry cacophony of the rubbish removal trucks, the tinkle of the ice cream bell at the vendors ply the suburbs.

I have missed my precious friends, folk who have been the bastions of Bulawayo, who refuse to be thwarted by politics and ineptitude. Those halcyon, normal days of bridge, tennis and yoga seem aeons away!!

I have missed the extremes. There is extreme outdoor weather here in Atlanta but indoors is always ambient due to the heating and cooling systems. I shall enjoy snuggling under the duvet with only my nose peeping out, when back in Bulawayo!!

I have missed my car!! I have not been behind the wheel in 8 months, always relying on the largesse of Shehoo, Heehoo and Uber to get me to the shops!! Hopefully I will remember to drive on the correct side of the road!!!!

HeeHoo has warned me that Bulawayo is now dry, dusty, potholed and freezing, my garden is past its best but still thankfully still lush and glorious, however my heart still aches for home.