Thanksgiving

I love Christmas for many reasons on many levels.  I also love Thanksgiving and one of the biggest reasons is that it doesn't come with the commercialism of Christmas.  It comes wrapped in family gathered around a table, giving thanks for all the blessings received throughout the year.  I imagine the early days of this holiday and whether it really began with a group of pilgrims and Native Americans, doesn't really matter to me.  The evolution of the holiday into a day of thanksgiving is what matters to me.  I do imagine that "first" one though with the plentiful harvest of food.  Wild game that the men hunted, the many crops harvested and lovingly prepared by the women. I still see that picture from a history book of a table as long as the eye can see with women and men and children of all ages and a table filled.  I think the image of people of different colors and places of birth coming together is one of the things I love.  It is a reminder of peace without borders for me and sharing what we have. 

Personally, I love the day that is filled with the smell that only Thanksgiving brings into our kitchen.  The pumpkin and apple pies, the cranberry sauce, the turkey and stuffing.  It is all stored in our memory banks and when we smell these things, we know it is Thanksgiving.  It is a day for families and friends to gather to give thanks for all, but mostly for me, it is a time to give thanks for my family coming together.  It is laughter about childhood stories told...often times I find something out that I didn't know before about some shenanigan one or all of them was a part of.  I remind myself that we survived it and laugh about it.  Laughing more at myself about the survival and grateful I didn't know then.  Feelings of gratitude that we are a family that gathers in laughter and fun, rather than arguing like many do.  I find that all hard to understand, but I hear from many that these holidays are days filled with anger and resentment, rather than laughter and love.  How grateful I am that ours is filled with love and gratitude.

Extra gratitude this year as we welcomed one new member to our table.  Augustus Oliver Russell celebrated his very first Thanksgiving this year.  Albeit, in my arms in a rocking chair as the rest of the family ate. I enjoyed rocking him and listening to the family chatter. Once he was asleep, I joined them.  What a blessing to welcome him.  We are truly blessed. 

What I miss most about Thanksgiving is Tara.  We never get to celebrate this day with her.  She is always far across the seas.  Somehow, we coordinate time zones and get a Skype call in and do our best to celebrate via technology.  She gets hungry hearing about all the food and tells us about her attempt to create a Thanksgiving meal wherever she is.  This year it was a chicken in the crock pot.  The Pilgrims might not have had such modern conveniences, but I am sure the sense of thanksgiving was there as they ate that chicken and memories of Thanksgivings before filled the air.  I am sure they told Sojo stories of childhood and young adult Thanksgivings before they began their lives as "global nomads".  We put their family picture on our table with us to remind us of the blessing they are in our lives.

And so it is...2012 Thanksgiving is behind us and we begin our journey toward Christmas when we will all be together around our table.  It will be ham instead of turkey, but the flavor of the gathering will be the same...gratitude for the gift of family being together.

 

Where's my turkey?

 

 

Whether near or far, we are always together...in body or in spirit we give thanks.

 

Flying Solo

Well, Augie and I managed just fine last Friday by ourselves for the entire day while his Mommy had to work.  I had readied myself for this task.  I had everything all set up.  I had cleaned the house the day before and had nothing to do except be with Augie.  I had thought about possibly making dinner for his parents when they came to pick him up, but Augie had other plans for me. 

We did a whole lot of snuggling during the day and golly, I did enjoy that.  We snuggled while he took his bottle and we snuggled while he slept and we even tried some snuggling when he cried.  But, sometimes even snuggling isn't what a baby needs.  We had a couple diaper "blow outs".  Luckily, I have the routine for diaper changing down pat.  We had to have a few clothing changes.  I think I may not really have that diaper thing down just perfect yet.  Those "blow outs" seem to go up the back and onto his clothes.  After those two blow outs, I thought maybe a bath was in order, so we did that too.  I was pretty proud of my ability to do this.  I don't think I have attempted this since his Uncle Matt (age 34) was a baby.  Funny how things like this come back to you...kind of like that riding a bike thing. 

Well, what do you do with an infant after they are fed, bathed, diapered, clothed and snuggled? Well, we tried the vibrating chair thing...I really don't know what they call all of these contraptions, but they work for awhile anyway.  Not long with this little guy though.  I sat on the floor with him in it...I put it inside the "pack-n-play" so he could see at a different level.  We chatted and solved world peace during the day while he was playing.  He played on his play mat on his back and had some tummy time too.  I sat that on the bed so I could lay down with him and chat.  It is a lot easier for this older Nana than being on the floor.  We had some sleep time in his "boppy" (this is a pillow like thing with a little nest for the baby...it kind of snuggles them) and some chat time and some more tummy time.  We did some rocking in the "baby rockin' chair" that has been waiting for a baby to rock in it for a very long time...since Uncle Matt days. We even took a 20 minute walk in the stroller, which was lots of fun and Nana can always use a little more exercise in her day. And then there was more snuggling going on in between all of this. 

I was amazed at how quickly the day went.  You know what they say, "time flies when you are having fun".  I admit it, I was tired after his Mommy and Daddy came to pick him up.  His Granda said I had kind of a dazed look about me.  You forget just how much energy it takes to care for an infant all day. You think to yourself ahead of time, "how hard can this be"?  It's funny though, it was the best kind of tired I have felt in a very long time.  The kind of tired I have waited for.  The kind of tired I feel after a day with Sojo.  It is a "thank you God for this day", kind of tired.  The best kind of tired. 

Just hangin' with Nana

 

 

Tummy time thoughts

 

 

Aaah, sleep

 

 

The rocking, bouncing, vibrating, musical wonder

 

 

Notice the 3 different outfits on this sweet boy...and that doesn't count the one that never made it off the changing pad.

 

Yes, it was a very good day.  I think I am ready to fly solo again real soon.

 

 

 

 

 

In Training

I am in training for Augie care.  This Friday starts our first day that is all day by ourselves.  I think we can do it.  We have been trained well.  He has his baby part down pat:  cry and someone will hold me, snuggle me, feed me or change me.  Oh, did I mention the snuggle part?  Yep, Augie has it down pat.  Now me...well his Mommy and Daddy have been working hard and helping me learn the ropes.  I am a bit out of practice since his Aunt Tara is 44, his Daddy is 41 and his Uncle Matt is 34.  It has been a while since I have done this baby gig.  It does seem to be coming back to me.  I especially love that snuggle part, so I think we will get along fine. 

 

This chair has been waiting a long time to have a baby rocked in it.  It is the chair Augie's Aunt Tara was rocked in, his Daddy was rocked in and his Uncle Matt was rocked in.  By the time Sojo arrived at our house, she was over a year old and not really into the rocking anymore.  This chair is a late 1960's Lazy Boy rocker/recliner.  I know, old school and not at all in style, but this is a baby rocking chair and there is history here.  It has been reupholstered 3 times and desperately needs it again.  First it was 60's gold and then it was 70's rust and then it was pink and mauve and turqoise southwestern flame stitch...very similar to the mauve and turqoise flame stitch it is now.  Yep, it needs a new do.  But, Augie doesn't care about the color or style.  He only cares about the snuggling and rocking.  We can do that.

 

 

We will have a little play time on his playmat

 

 

Hopefully, he will sleep a little

 

 

 

His Granda can help out sometimes too.  Some male bonding.

 

 

When Mommy and Daddy come home, he will be ready for some snuggling with them. 

Yep, I think we are ready. 

 

 

 

 

Blessed Beyond Measure

The title of this blog sounds like a perfect title for this post.  I was indeed, blessed beyond measure 44 years ago today when I became a mother for the very first time.  I carried her within my womb, beneath my heart for 9 months and when she came into this world and I looked into those eyes that would become the most beautiful shade of amber brown I have ever seen, I knew my life would never be the same.  She was my first born and my only daughter.  Yes, I have been blessed beyond measure.

She lives across the seas and has for the last, oh...20 plus years now.  Not long out of college, she ventured off to Ecuador, South America for 5 years.  Then, it was off to Venezuela, South America for 2 years, where she met the man who would later become her husband.  Then, she came back to Tucson for one year and then it was off to Cameroon, Africa.  Dale followed her to Cameroon after a year and they completed her 2 years there.  From there, it was Shanghai, China.  During this time, they married and adopted their daughter, Sojo and lived a total of 5 years there.  Off to Bangkok, Thailand it was for the 3 of them and now, they are beginning a stint in Udhailiayh, Saudi Arabia.  Quite an exciting life for a little girl who could not spend the entire night at a friends until she was nearly 12.  We knew the phone would ring at 10 pm and with tears, she would ask her Daddy to come and get her.  A bit over compensation here, maybe?  I remember her words when she left for Ecuador, "Mom, don't worry, I am only going for one year, two at the most".  Famous last words.

She lives an exciting life, this daughter of mine.  Not one that I would probably choose, but it is a good life and it offers us an amazing opportunity to visit exotic places that we would not otherwise probably choose.  We have seen the inter-cities, the native countrysides; along with the Amazon Jungle, the Galapagos Islands, a bevy of beautiful beaches in South America and Thailand.  We have seen Machu Picchu in Peru with her and walked the Great Wall of China with her.  We have shopped in markets where we have seen pigs being held down while someone checks their teeth out before purchase. We have shopped in markets where you see wool from the beginning to the end (from the sheep to the colored woven wool sweater).  We have shopped in villages and cities and seen the artisan and the merchant who wants to sell you the knock off designer bags to golf clubs.  We have traveled on airplanes, colorful rustic buses, taxis of all kinds and condition, tuk tuks, boats of every size, color, design, age and condition.  We have seen sunrises and sunsets and moons across the world.  We have seen the good, the bad and the ugly of every place she has been.  The good seems to always prevail, no matter what or where she lives. 

This child of mine has friends all over the world.  She takes it all in and makes the best of it, no matter what it is.  She found Cameroon one of the hardest parts of her travels and she once told me it was the only country she could see no hope.  She always found hope and joy in people wherever she went and no matter how little they may have.  In Africa, it was harder to find that joy.  Yet, I think she did.  Even if it was in small ways.  She discovered that in having little, you can find much around you if you look for it.  She loved the colorful clothing of the people and they way they sang and danced.  She came home from that adventure recycling and reusing in ways I never even considered.  I once found her washing a zip lock bag and sticking it on my kitchen window to dry.  I thought the washing and re-using was great...it was the sticking it on my window I wasn't sure about and I never did find out why that was done.  I think she discovered how much we have in the US and how much we waste and there are so many around the world who would love to have much of what we waste and throw away. 

She is in the stark desert of Saudi Arabia now and in the midst of a desert that is far more barren and desolate than the one here in Tucson.  Yet, she is reveling in the similarities and the stark differences.  The desert is speaking to her and she is finding a stillness and peace that only the stark barrenness of a desert can provide.  She is embracing the culture and enjoying the opportunity to experience yet another part of this amazing world and the people who live in it.  She never seeks to separate herself from the differences...she allow herself to travel into the differences and experience them.

And why do I choose to tell this travel tale on her birthday?  Because I think these travels for nearly half of her life have helped form the woman she has become.  She is:  A woman of grace.  A woman who is inclusive in her thinking...she doesn't care what your religious or political preference is, nor does she care what the color of your skin is or what part of the world you are from. She was born and raised as a Roman Catholic.She is rooted in faith tradition, yet enjoys the exploration of and experience of other faith traditions. She is in awe of the various "altars" she finds around the world...be they in a church or on a playground.Whether they are of her family faith tradition or another. She is in awe of the sound of the call to pray coming from a Mosque.  She loves to visit churches around the world and light a candle for a prayer intention.  She is fluent in Spanish, does quite well in French, can manage well in Mandarin, struggles a bit with Thai, but can manage there too.  She is anxious to learn more Arabic.  Oh, she does quite well with English and can throw in a bit of the British lingo too.  She travels, not with prejudice or preconceived notions about a country. She opens her mind and heart wanting to learn it all on her own.  She wants to form her own opinions based on her own experiences, not on what she has been told by books or other people. 

They say that a parent's job is first to give their child roots and then to give them wings.  The root part was easy for me.  It was those wings I was reluctant to place upon her back.  Yet, somehow she found them and placed them upon her own back and off she went.  I am happy that she did that, because I am so proud of the child she was and the woman she has become.  Without both, something would be missing.  She seems to have found it all.

There are a couple of phrases that seem to fit her to a "T".  "All who wander, are not lost" and her blog title is "Global Nomads" seems to fit her. I call her my "gypsy child".  She thinks globally and loves totally.  She is all I could ever have asked for in a daughter.  I am blessed to have been chosen to give birth to her.  She is a child of the universe, a child of God.  A gift to me. 

Enjoy your birthday my child, my daughter, my love.  Embrace the universe and live your life freely.