I think this whole move thing is going pretty smoothly. Or I did. Until the movers edged closer and closer to my roller skates with their boxes, wrapping papers and tape gun. Then I got a little panicky. My heart starting palpating, and my skin got cool and clammy. I didn't quite know what to do. Or why I was feeling quite so possessive about them. If they got packed up by the movers I wouldn't have them for weeks or maybe even months. What if they got lost and never saw them again? Never.
Before we moved to Morocco, I played roller derby in Colorado. Two nights a week I'd put on my skates and become my alter ego, Bad Mojo. She was a bad ass who smelled like sweat, had a foul mouth, was covered in bruises, had a bum knee and an even worse attitude. Ok, so exactly like me except she hit girls. Mojo even had a fan. My local librarian and card carrying member of the AARP. That's totally true. But the thing I loved about roller derby wasn't the skating. Or the hitting. Or my one fan. It was about being a part of something. And the women who did it with me.
So I body blocked the movers and defended my skates and helmet at the bottom of the second half. And I made some room for them in my suitcase. I don't know if I'll return to roller derby or not. Things have changed since I left. They have a banked track league now. Lots of skaters I knew and loved have hung up their skates and retired while I was gone. And now in addition to the kids schedules, I have my dance schedule to work around. So, it just wouldn't be the same. Because nothing stays the same.
Tonight I get on a plane to the states.
Skating away from being a part of Morocco.
And from the women who do it with me.
Since neither will fit in my suit case, I will simply have to carry them in my heart wherever I go.
This post is dedicated to Sara and Faith.
May your flight home together give you more time to reflect and refract your experiences.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back to the USA!
Bad Mojo will never retire! LOL!! Lovin this post, and sending prayers for a safe and wonderful journey back to the states girl!!
ReplyDeleteHugs!
Wow Marie. It's been a trip, hasn't it?
ReplyDeleteYou've learned, experienced, changed, endured, seen, and felt so much since you've been in beautiful and crazy Morocco. Your weekly antics have been shared with the world and now your passion for writing is anxiously waiting to spill itself out onto the pages of your new book.
...but what about YOUR book? The one that's filled with African adventures, camels & donuts, dirty beach towels, and spaghetti skin? The pages your heart has written into the chapter of your life called Morocco are bursting with as much realness and beauty as the country itself.
The adventures you've experienced within yourself and as a family in just this "chapter" is more than what most people would experience in a trilogy of ho-hum. You are very blessed to have such amazing children and a husband who holds your hand through each turn of your life's pages.
Perhaps this blog has been just the introduction for us readers, but for you it seems like it has been a lot more. Not only has it been an outlet for creativity, de-stressing, and storytelling, it seems as if you've really found a way to connect and create with a little piece of all of us.
I enjoyed meeting you and sharing a breath of our live's chapters that day in Rabat. (to everyone that hasn't had the pleasure of meeting Marie-- she's exactly like she seems on this blog. Funny, quirky, sarcastic, a little nerdy, but most of all REAL. And she totally rocks the jeans like no other).
I don't think any of us are ready for the last page yet, and maybe you aren't either. While you take your family and your pen with you to America, you're leaving more than a few of us hanging on for what happens next. I'm sure there's a piece of your heart stuck here in Morocco and you may never get it back. That's ok. It's in a good place.
I'm sure every one will miss you here-- your friends, Barack, the camels, the guys in the souk, the bathroom attendants, and the people at Marjane, too. While you're swaying in the light breeze on a hammock in Colorado, there's gonna be plenty of mint tea, couscous, tagine, and taxicabs waiting for your next visit with open arms.
As your life starts the next chapter back in America, don't forget to bellydance like no one's watching (except maybe the neighbor's construction crew) and to live life to the fullest like you have done here.
Best of luck to you and I hope you feel true happiness.
Assalamo Alaikum,
Jaime
xx
Jamie your comment should be in the hall of fame of best blog comments seriously. After a whole day of saying goodbye and crying it was nice to see your dead on synopsis of our time here. It was the absolute perfect gift. Thank you and best wishes to you!
ReplyDeleteHave a safe trip home and welcome back!
ReplyDeleteI have thoroughly, and I mean THOROUGHLY enjoyed you and your tales these months. I would be crushed beyond tears should you even entertain the thought of stopping.
ReplyDeleteSafe travels. New chapter. xo
Safe travel and soft landings to you and your family. I look forward to reading about your reentry into life in the US of A.
ReplyDeleteIt really has been a journey, hasn't it!? But that journey is now on another course, as you reacquanit yourselves to the strangeness and wonderfulness of the United States. Enjoy your summer, as I'm sure you will. Welcome home, and God bless y'all! I look forward to future posts, and following the ups and downs of putting all your adventures between the covers of a book! Hugs to you!
ReplyDelete