Thank You and I'm Sorry

We were living in New Zealand when tragedy struck the United States. One morning we woke to the radio alarm and instead of the usual quirky kiwi morning show we heard the confused and subdued announcement that New York City appeared to be under attack.

Over the ensuing days and weeks we were beneficiaries of constant heartfelt sympathy from friends and acquaintances. I was amazed at their concern for us and our country. I quickly learned that a country the size of California with the population of Seattle had a lot to teach me about national pride.

We have been watching the news closely and I want to reach out to the people who reached out to me. I'm sorry that this dark day has come. I hope for healing and strength to come to you soon.

The bad girl bandits (a comic strip)

Once upon a time there were two girls.

They looked and acted nice

But they weren't (girls with pigtails saing saying "MooHaHa")

They did not even like babies.

They broke pencils.

They made fake roads (cars unknowingly driving down roads that end in ponds)

But then the Hulk came and almost defeated them. But he died on the spot.

And they were never bad again.

They played with babies too.

The End.

By Maggie

Sick. Ill. Feeling Poorly.

Varying amounts of coughing, throwing up, and crying are going on around here. These are pictures of better days since no one would want photo documentation of our current situation. Hopefully days like this will come again.

Enzo the Impertinent

I have some concerns about Enzo. Several times in the past month people have made a point to comment to me about how adorable they think he is. Unfortunately, the conversation goes like this:

Out of town family member: "That Enzo is just so cute. I want to take him home with me! Today when I arrived he came straight up to me and said, 'I'm angry with you. Don't talk to me!'"

Venerable branch matriarch: "Enzo is so cute. Today when I visited nursery I said "Hello" to him and he told me to shush."

Then yesterday, there was a woman with a petition outside the grocery store. She tried to engage Lena and Enzo with a cheery "Hey there little guys."

Lena smiled back with delight. New people are always new friends for her.

Enzo pulled his face into a fierce scowl and screamed, "I am NOT a little guy."

The petition woman laughed, "He is so cute!"

I'm worried that as long as he's so dang cute he's going to get away with anything. Admittedly, it works on me.

Keeping in Touch

An unfortunate side effect of coming back to the land of the free is my tendency to fall out of contact with the world at large. Something about being between the shining seas gives me the impression of closeness with those that I care about, family and friends. What I forget is that proximity only means so much in a relationship and being in the same country as someone (or even just countries with the same national language) does not mean that I am maintaining a relationship with them.

These broodings were sparked by a response to one of my sporadic attempts to keep in touch. Our first Christmas card in three years made it's tentative way to addresses far and wide without knowing for sure if the intended recipients still lived there. I went on my merry way hoping far flung friends and family would know I was thinking of them and forgive my former silence.

The other day I got a response to a card from an elderly friend who we met while living in New Zealand. The letter was dated for Christmas day and after a brief paragraph expressing surprise at hearing from us shared the sad news that his wonderful wife had passed away. I immediately remembered how I, as a young homesick woman with a new baby, had leaned on her for support. And then, of course, I realized the last time we talked was six years ago, when Maggie was a baby.

I don't want to get so caught up in my busy life that I don't stay in contact with the people that are important to me. This includes you.

I'm a slow learner so I thought I'd start by blogging again. And someday, when I build up the courage, I might even post something on facebook.