Saturday, March 23, 2019

An Origin and an Ending


On February 12th, 2019 at 6:41 in the morning, I experienced the greatest origin there is - the arrival of our daughter after 26 long hours of unmedicated labor. Life changed in an instant with the birth of our baby and my subsequent birth as a mother. Our girl has already taught me everything and then some about being in the moment, letting go of control, cultivating gratitude, and amplifying love.

I'd been contemplating for some time - years really - how and when to write the final entry for this blog. I want to keep writing, tried to start again here, but never quite found my momentum. Life has moved forward. I have a new home now, a new partner, a new family. I'm a new person. Only right that I'd have a new space in which to share.

And with new beginnings there are endings. The news of Cyclone Idai last week, and the subsequent devastation of Mozambique's central region (as well as Zimbabwe and Malawi) has my mind and heart back in Africa. It's surreal to see the places I lived and worked in when I started this blog back in 2005 completely underwater, decimated, the future precarious and uncertain.

Photo credit: Denis Onyodi/IFRC/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Here is a link to donate to relief efforts - I personally know the country director for Save the Children Mozambique and, despite all my NGO cynicism documented in this blog, this is the best way I know to help at the moment - cash aid, in the hands of a team I know is "real".

May these waters recede and somehow there be a thousand miracles.

If you'd like to stay in touch, you can find me at www.aliambrosio.com - a space that is still very much a work in progress. I will be starting a blog over there, and updating the content regularly.

Much love and my most sincere thank you for following me here over the past fourteen years. Here's looking forward to the next chapter, the next routes, the next adventures.

xx,
Ali

3 comments:

esskaym said...

Thank you for sharing your life, Ali. I've been following your blog since the beginning. I can't even remember how I stumbled across your blog. I wish you well on your new adventure as a mother and will miss your voice in my Feedly lineup. Take care of yourself and your family!

Best regards,
Sandra (Barbados)

Bela Campoi said...

Ali, quanto tempo??!!
Googlei Ali la loca, e eis que me chega essa novidade: quantas mudanças boas!
Parabéns pela maternidade: vida nova! Às vezes eu passava aqui e não voltava, pois vc nunca mais havia postado: muito bom te ver de volta! Escreva mais que eu estarei aqui pra te ler, pois adoro seus textos... Super beijos direto do Paraná!

Expatriate Archive Centre said...

Dear Ali,

The Expatriate Archive Centre (EAC) would like to invite you to join our Blog Archiving Project. We believe your blog would be of value to researchers and academics working on expatriate studies and, therefore, a valuable addition to our archive. You can find more information about the project on our website: https://xpatarchive.com/initiatives/eac-blog-archive/

If you have any questions about the project or the EAC, please do send us an email at: blogs@xpatarchive.com

We look forward to hearing from you!

The Blog Archiving Team