Saturday, February 16, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Teddy
Today, we went on a walk to find lunch. As soon as we ventured outside of the Hilton fortress, we were met by an old-souled, finger-nail-bitten, 11-year-old boy. His name was Teddy, the youngest of four children. He attends primary school, likes black Mercedes (not VW bugs like Tommy and me) and wants to be a doctor (which after becoming, will be the owner of said black Mercedes). His English was excellent. Tommy is the friendlier of the two of us, with an unbelievable social thirst that needs to be quenched, much as this boy needed. Questions, many, many questions were asked and my husband, as they walked a few steps behind me, was happy to answer and ask in return. A half-mile down the road the three of us ate lunch. Were we conned out of the equivalent of $3? Most probably. Is it perhaps the “wrong” thing to do, perpetuating this over-friendly, hustling behavior? Possibly. Did we have a wonderful lunch talking with an amazingly interesting young boy whom we both fell in love with? Absolutely. We regret not making a deal with him from the beginning; “if you promise to practice English and tell us a bit about Ethiopia, can we buy you lunch?” Then it would not have seemed uncomfortable during the beginning of lunch, when he welcomed himself to a seat without being invited, and we would not have contributed to the nail biting that commenced during the meal. In the end, we got more than we gave. Just a lunch, but we will miss beautiful-eyed Teddy.
Welcome Home
We have arrived! Without even a hiccup. The flight was long- but we
were lucky enough to get a bulkhead (which my very leggy husband was
profusely happy about). It took about 1.3 painless minutes to get our
visa (no line, about 4 people waiting to help us). Our luggage also
arrived, which seemed like pure magic, and the minibus to take us to
the Hilton was ready and waiting. I don’t want to jinx it, but I
can’t believe our luck already. We are scheduled to pick up Judah
tomorrow morning, until then it is just the adventures of 2.
Right before we left, I mean, seriously minutes before walking out
the door, I received an ugly comment on my blog. I wasn’t initially
upset, as the words of the sad, crazy, and uneducated don’t typically
affect me. Although “typically” in my life, I am not leaving to be
united with my son. So, this was different. I tried to figure out why
the words of a miserable person made me pause. I realized it was only
sadness that I felt. Sadness that Jude’s world is not more beautiful.
Not more perfect. I am a dreamer by nature, and although I see
misery, I like to pretend that people are even more beautiful than
they are. Tommy once told me, “not everything can be beautiful.” I
felt a pinch of pride that I do try to make things beautiful, at
least through his eyes. It’s so easy to see the misery.
Although we have only been on this journey for a matter of hours, we
have come across an amazing surplus of beauty.
Coincidences:
So, we left our house, me having mixed feelings - feelings that were
too surreal and lacking the tangibility to describe. Hope and fear
being most prominent. We parked our car and took a shuttle to the
airport. The shuttle driver, a wonderful Ethiopian man whose whose
love and pride in his country was readily available, gave us helpful
hints for our visit to Addis. He promised that he would be there to
pick us up when we returned to L.A., so he could meet Tesfahun (which
he said was the name of a revolutionary leader? I will have to look
this up).
We got on the first plane to DC and our flight number was #44. You
know how some people have favorite numbers? Like REALLY favorite
numbers…I like numbers, but I’m a fair-weathered-number-friend,
friendly to all. Tommy’s dad, on the other hand, is fiercely loyal to
number 44. This loyalty, I took as a sign…and guess what? All went
smoothly.
Our second flight, from Washington D.C., was also pleasant. Most of
the passengers were Ethiopian and I noticed something atypical
instantaneously. I’m a friendly bird. I smile at people A LOT. I once
asked Tommy is he was sometimes embarrassed about my “bubbly-ness”
with strangers (I can really take it over the top) and he laughed and
said “sometimes”…By the way, I’m not changing this. EVER. So, the
readily apparent difference between this flight and all others was
the friendliness. Generous smiles in return (AND SOME EVEN FIRST).
Heart-warming smiles. I instantly felt healed from the slightly blue
“Judah’s world isn’t beautiful enough for him” state.
The flight was interesting. It was mostly night while we were flying
over Africa. The sand dunes of Egypt and/or Sudan, for as far as the
eye could see while meeting the bright red sunrise, was impressive.
When we were flying over Ethiopia, I instantly had this sense of
pride. Pride so strong, that I had to sneaky cry over it. This is my
son’s country. This is his home. It was almost too much for me to
emotionally take. Then I would see an area that was so heartbreaking,
even from the distance of the airplane, that I had to hold my breath.
Tommy squeezed my hand and said, “I know.” We couldn’t talk about it,
and I don’t think I ever will. But, I know.
We landed in a very nice airport. The people were gracious, and as I
said NO glitches. Our driver said “Welcome home” and it didn’t even
seem cheesy. It felt genuine. As did his eyes. Another passenger in
our minibus was Ethiopian, going home to his and his wife’s families.
He thanked us for being global citizens and for our humanity. For
helping a child who has no one to help him. I didn’t know exactly
what to say, because each person I have met, seemed to give ME so
much. So much HOPE, something I felt slightly lacking when I was
leaving L.A. I’m a sucker for a warm smile.
We truthfully haven’t done much in the few hours we have been here. I
mean, we obviously have tried St. George’s beer and walked around a
bit. The jet lag is fairly intense, so I’m glad that we still have
today to try to become more cerebrally active before meeting our
Jude. I have learned in these few hours that I am passionately proud
of our son’s country. I cannot wait to bring him back. I cannot wait
to share with him the love I feel for the people. I am excited about
possible professional opportunities that may help make the visits
more than tours. I have so much to learn.
Tomorrow we get our boy! I am thrilled and anxious! Ethiopia is
beautiful. Last night I woke up many times. Sometimes I woke up with
a big smile, sometimes with a tear running down my face. This is very
representative of my feelings right now. I definitely feel alive.
were lucky enough to get a bulkhead (which my very leggy husband was
profusely happy about). It took about 1.3 painless minutes to get our
visa (no line, about 4 people waiting to help us). Our luggage also
arrived, which seemed like pure magic, and the minibus to take us to
the Hilton was ready and waiting. I don’t want to jinx it, but I
can’t believe our luck already. We are scheduled to pick up Judah
tomorrow morning, until then it is just the adventures of 2.
Right before we left, I mean, seriously minutes before walking out
the door, I received an ugly comment on my blog. I wasn’t initially
upset, as the words of the sad, crazy, and uneducated don’t typically
affect me. Although “typically” in my life, I am not leaving to be
united with my son. So, this was different. I tried to figure out why
the words of a miserable person made me pause. I realized it was only
sadness that I felt. Sadness that Jude’s world is not more beautiful.
Not more perfect. I am a dreamer by nature, and although I see
misery, I like to pretend that people are even more beautiful than
they are. Tommy once told me, “not everything can be beautiful.” I
felt a pinch of pride that I do try to make things beautiful, at
least through his eyes. It’s so easy to see the misery.
Although we have only been on this journey for a matter of hours, we
have come across an amazing surplus of beauty.
Coincidences:
So, we left our house, me having mixed feelings - feelings that were
too surreal and lacking the tangibility to describe. Hope and fear
being most prominent. We parked our car and took a shuttle to the
airport. The shuttle driver, a wonderful Ethiopian man whose whose
love and pride in his country was readily available, gave us helpful
hints for our visit to Addis. He promised that he would be there to
pick us up when we returned to L.A., so he could meet Tesfahun (which
he said was the name of a revolutionary leader? I will have to look
this up).
We got on the first plane to DC and our flight number was #44. You
know how some people have favorite numbers? Like REALLY favorite
numbers…I like numbers, but I’m a fair-weathered-number-friend,
friendly to all. Tommy’s dad, on the other hand, is fiercely loyal to
number 44. This loyalty, I took as a sign…and guess what? All went
smoothly.
Our second flight, from Washington D.C., was also pleasant. Most of
the passengers were Ethiopian and I noticed something atypical
instantaneously. I’m a friendly bird. I smile at people A LOT. I once
asked Tommy is he was sometimes embarrassed about my “bubbly-ness”
with strangers (I can really take it over the top) and he laughed and
said “sometimes”…By the way, I’m not changing this. EVER. So, the
readily apparent difference between this flight and all others was
the friendliness. Generous smiles in return (AND SOME EVEN FIRST).
Heart-warming smiles. I instantly felt healed from the slightly blue
“Judah’s world isn’t beautiful enough for him” state.
The flight was interesting. It was mostly night while we were flying
over Africa. The sand dunes of Egypt and/or Sudan, for as far as the
eye could see while meeting the bright red sunrise, was impressive.
When we were flying over Ethiopia, I instantly had this sense of
pride. Pride so strong, that I had to sneaky cry over it. This is my
son’s country. This is his home. It was almost too much for me to
emotionally take. Then I would see an area that was so heartbreaking,
even from the distance of the airplane, that I had to hold my breath.
Tommy squeezed my hand and said, “I know.” We couldn’t talk about it,
and I don’t think I ever will. But, I know.
We landed in a very nice airport. The people were gracious, and as I
said NO glitches. Our driver said “Welcome home” and it didn’t even
seem cheesy. It felt genuine. As did his eyes. Another passenger in
our minibus was Ethiopian, going home to his and his wife’s families.
He thanked us for being global citizens and for our humanity. For
helping a child who has no one to help him. I didn’t know exactly
what to say, because each person I have met, seemed to give ME so
much. So much HOPE, something I felt slightly lacking when I was
leaving L.A. I’m a sucker for a warm smile.
We truthfully haven’t done much in the few hours we have been here. I
mean, we obviously have tried St. George’s beer and walked around a
bit. The jet lag is fairly intense, so I’m glad that we still have
today to try to become more cerebrally active before meeting our
Jude. I have learned in these few hours that I am passionately proud
of our son’s country. I cannot wait to bring him back. I cannot wait
to share with him the love I feel for the people. I am excited about
possible professional opportunities that may help make the visits
more than tours. I have so much to learn.
Tomorrow we get our boy! I am thrilled and anxious! Ethiopia is
beautiful. Last night I woke up many times. Sometimes I woke up with
a big smile, sometimes with a tear running down my face. This is very
representative of my feelings right now. I definitely feel alive.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
We are leaving for Ethiopia tomorrow!
I am busy running around the house giggling and pretending to do very important business. Just so you know.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Pictures from Arnold, CA
Here I am with my good friend Parker and my nephew Dylan...
Here's Tommy, our nephew Dylan, Me, my friends Parker and Lorenzo, Aunt Judy, Nanny (Tommy's Grandma), Danny (bro in law) and his fabulous girlfriend, Celeste, who happens to be the mom of my friends Parker and Lorenzo...
Tommy and Dylan
The group again
Dylan, Parker, and Lorenzo hanging via Tommy and Aunt Judy
Here's Tommy, our nephew Dylan, Me, my friends Parker and Lorenzo, Aunt Judy, Nanny (Tommy's Grandma), Danny (bro in law) and his fabulous girlfriend, Celeste, who happens to be the mom of my friends Parker and Lorenzo...
Tommy and Dylan
The group again
Dylan, Parker, and Lorenzo hanging via Tommy and Aunt Judy
Monday, February 4, 2008
Tribute to Daddy-Friend
People have different names for their Fathers (Dad, Pop, Daddy, etc). Mine is Daddy-Friend. Today was a prime example of why he is considered a Daddy-Friend. He called, with concern and insight readily detectable in his voice, to say, "You probably wouldn't have thought of this, but, you will need a car seat. Do you have a car seat? I mean, have you thought of that? I wouldn't have thought of that ...". I assured him, with a chuckle, that yes, we do indeed, have a car seat. I'm so glad that I have a Daddy-Friend at times like these (times when I am losing sleep contemplating whether crib bumpers are soft, happy, colorful friends or death traps in disguise) to heighten my awareness that there may be parents somewhere in the space time continuum, that a week before being united with their children, may not have thought of the need for a car seat (I on the other hand, who is acutely aware of the fact that I could probably have more than one solid diagnosis of OCD, knew the consumer reports of every car seat ever evaluated over two years ago). Gotta love a helpful Daddy-Friend, he believes in safety first.
In other news, is anyone else losing sleep over the primaries? Regardless of political beliefs, it's crazy right? I don't know whether to be more anxious about leaving for Africa to pick up my son in 3 minutes or Super Tuesday in 1 minute!
In other news, is anyone else losing sleep over the primaries? Regardless of political beliefs, it's crazy right? I don't know whether to be more anxious about leaving for Africa to pick up my son in 3 minutes or Super Tuesday in 1 minute!
Friday, February 1, 2008
Introducing Saoirse Bella!
My beautiful girlfriend was born January 27th and weighed in at 5 pounds 9 ounces! She is tiny, but strong...and I decided I like her more than anyone else likes her...I respect her thoughts and believe in her completely. Don't get me wrong, her parents seem to adore her, but I just think that I like her the most. Here's proof:
(I'm waiting for my sister to have the opportunity to share pictures of her before I show all the cuteness...and there is a lot of cuteness to be shared)
To tide you over, I will share a picture of the new big brother (my nephew Darrigan). I'm sorry that you have to tilt a bit, but if you risk it, you will see the look of someone completely satisfied with their NEW BIG BROTHER CAKE...which is important stuff.
(I'm waiting for my sister to have the opportunity to share pictures of her before I show all the cuteness...and there is a lot of cuteness to be shared)
To tide you over, I will share a picture of the new big brother (my nephew Darrigan). I'm sorry that you have to tilt a bit, but if you risk it, you will see the look of someone completely satisfied with their NEW BIG BROTHER CAKE...which is important stuff.
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