Those would be the wise words of Astrid Meklit, not me.  Still, she hits the nail on the head.  Summer has been screeching forward–my dad’s death, Elliott’s decision to go to school, Enkutatash, Dead of Winter, art parties, DC trips, baby showers–a lot to do around these parts.  Instead of exhaustive detail about any of these items (each worthy of several posts, I’m sure) you get…a laundry list.  Woo to the Hoo, lazy me!

My dad’s death:  We followed the month in Florida with a month of my mom here, and initially, I planned another trip to Florida sometime in August, but that isn’t going to happen.  Daily loving phone calls from me also aren’t happening, despite my best intentions.  We’re all muddling forward though–still sad, still missing my dad, but there are lots of happy afternoons too.  We’re trying to entice my mom to stay longer next time by offering her a real bed to sleep in rather than a D-lux air mattress–we’ll see how successful we are.

Elliott’s school decision:  The school decision is not mine, and wasn’t mine to make.  While I think Elliott will be happy with his choice, I’m struggling with it.  Homeschooling, specifically unschooling, makes the most sense to me.  I’ve identified as a homeschooling mother for so long, it feels weird not to be one any longer.  Complicating things are the logistics of this school affair.  It’s been assumed (for about a year now) that Albert would begin working in town for about a year starting in June…then no, wait, it will be August.  Um, no–maybe November. Did we say 2010?  Maybe for a few months in 2011.  It’s all still up in the air, but I really thought Albert would be home for the first year of traditional school, making it less tempting to sneak away for a week in DC from time to time.  I had hoped that his in town schedule would help shape our routine (and I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you that I planned for Albert to do some of the driving–the round trip to school will be a little more than an hour, 2 x a day).  Elliott’s school day doesn’t start until 9, which will make getting AM to preschool on time a challenge as well (really, an impossible dream–she’ll be late unless I can drop Elliott early).  Fencing days will pose an additional challenge–I don’t know how we’ll fit in schoolwork or dinner on Tuesday and Thursday and still achieve a reasonable bedtime.  All kvetching on my part–by mid October, I’m sure I’ll have figured all of this out, and maybe there will be a carpool of some sort to ease the pain.  In the meantime, we’re all enjoying back-to-school shopping for the first time ever.  All of Elliott’s new items are being stored in my closet and Elliott stops by daily to visit his new things, especially his shoes.

Enkutatash:  Scheduled for September 18, the team has a lot left to do.  We’re hoping to host more than 500 people, and there’s still a fair bit of planning to do.  The meeting schedule bumps up from monthly to every other week in August, weekly meetings in September, so we’ll get it all done.  Still, the ‘to-do’ list is a bit daunting…

Dead of Winter gala:  Only 7 months away!  Gathering donations (and additional team members)* for the event at this point.  Once Enkutatash is over, planning will begin in earnest.

art party:  I’ve mentioned it before, I know.  The art party was loads of fun, but EOR is in need of more art.   If you are the parent of a smaller Ethiopian person, please, please, please pop a piece of their art with a mini bio (name, age, a few fun facts) in the mail to EOR’s main address:  2030 SW Christy Ave. Beaverton OR 97005 by FRIDAY.  Sales from art cards generate funds for EOR’s various programs.  We need you (or more specifically, your little person’s masterpieces).

DC trips:  Super hot during this last trip–103 on the very last day!  We managed to have a blast though–4 free concerts, lots of art museums, and more trains than we could count.  We also had dinner with a high school friend of mine, and met some of Albert’s colleagues for dinner and also museum time.  We had such a good time, we’re attempting to squeeze one last trip into the month of August.  A challenge, but we’re up for it!

baby showers:  I’m co-hosting 2 showers in August–one this Saturday, and one on the 21st.  Both mamas, very dear friends,  have waited so long to meet their Ethiopian cuties, it is an honor to plan for these fabulous events, but my time has been so crunched, I’m afraid I won’t do them justice.  These families are among the first 2-trip families.  They were both in Ethiopia last week to see their sweet little ones,  and will return within the next several weeks to bring their guys home.  The showers will be a welcome distraction (the thank you notes–maybe not so much).  Pictures to follow!

That’s it in a nutshell.  Busy-busy,  a little grouchy, but mostly happy.  I wish you all the same!

*If you would like to join the Dead of Winter planning committee, or you’d like to donate an item or items for the event, please let me know. We need You!

I do a lot of volunteering these days–Enkutatash is just around the corner, so I’m busy with preparations on behalf of ETSS and since becoming vice president of EOR back in January?  Well, let’s just say that I’ve added a lot of hours there too.

While I don’t receive a regular paycheck for any of these tasks, there are all sorts of other perks related to my work.  Desalegn, the founder of EOR’s newest partner, Friends of Orphans and Vulnerable Children, blogged this news yesterday:

OUR OLD TOILET, THE NEW ONE IS COMING SOON!!!

• You spend your days playing with your children, tending your garden, working outside of the home, starting a business — not walking miles to your only water source
• Your children go to school every day, instead of walking miles to their only water source
• You have no threat of water borne diseases, such as cholera, typhoid, bacillary dysentery, polio, meningitis and hepatitis A
• You don’t have to worry that people up river are using your only water source as their only sanitation source
• You will not lose your child to diarrhea, which is the leading cause of death of children in countries with high mortality rates.  And you will not worry that even if your child survives diarrhea, he or she will fail to thrive and become vulnerable to other infections

I know that before my trip to Ethiopia I took water for granted.  I had heard about the issues people in developing countries face regarding water, but had never really thought about it.  Now I think every day about what my daughter’s life would be like if she lived somewhere that did not have access to safe, clean water.  I cry when I read posts about the 5 million children who die every year from diarrhea.  My heart aches when I think about the women who cannot start a business, or work in a farm to support their families, because they spend so much time each day walking to and from their water sources- which are often times infected with bacteria.

Please consider donating to EOR’s water first program.  You can do so here.  Our $10,000 pledged donation will literally provide clean water to an entire village.   We can do this, but we need your help.

posted to the EOR blog by  my brilliant friend Shawn

Hey kittens!  Go share some love with Ali and posse. Their sweet family of three became a sweeter family of four today.

It’s time for another shower, I think!

30 03 2009

A migraine yesterday prevented me from saying anything the least bit intelligent about gotcha days or fabulous girls who make every day a miracle.  I’m reprinting last year’s ‘Gotcha Day” post for the three people who haven’t seen it before.

If you are very very smart, you will strut (like my sweet girl, Astrid Meklit) over to Staci’s blog to read her incredible tale of WOW!

There aren’t words to describe my joy for everyone involved…

3 years ago today, I was winging my way to Ethiopia–the 9 weeks between referral and flight were a blur of frenetic activity–we had a weekend getaway, celebrated a boy’s 8th birthday, made an offer on a house in Cowtown,  rescinded the offer, flew to SF for a week to find a house, packed, packed, packed,  engaged movers, lived in a hotel,  moved into our east bay house, unpacked, unpacked, unpacked, and then 7 days later, began the  process of packing, packing, packing for Ethiopia.  As excited as I was to meet my sweet baby, I barely had time to consider her existence–until I got on the plane.   The 20 or so in air hours were spent crafting the life we’d spend together.  I planned cosleeping and birthday parties, and Halloween costumes, and bubbles, and reading and library trips and fireworks and a thousand other special moments until I was so overwhelmed by joy that I burst into tears the minute the plane touched the ground.

And, I have to say that I got it wrong.  Every idea I had of the delight that would follow was a mere shadow of my reality.  The glory of raising Astrid Meklit  surpasses my every fantasy–every day is filled with hair clips, and sidewalk angels (the lesser-known cousin of the ever-popular snow angel), and the AM version of Boom Boom POW!,  reading, and library trips, and Enkutatash planning, and parades, and a commitment to EOR, and Halloween costumes, and dog underpants, and squirrel feeding, and popsicles, and a million other incredible pieces that make up our life together.

This isn’t to paint a rosier picture than reality presents–AM wears her emotions on her sleeve, so as quick as she is to love, she’s moved to tears equally quickly, she swallows batteries, takes off her car seat, has so many food allergies that make her difficult to feed,  was incredibly clingy with me, only me for the longest time, and oh yeah, she won’t nap in the car.

But I mention all of this to remind everyone waiting just what you’re waiting for, because as amazing as I thought my life with my daughter would be, it’s just that much more. More than I ever imagined, more than I ever hoped for.  LIfe with my girl is my dream multiplied by 47–everything I asked for, and more.

Thank you, darling daughter, for sharing your joie de vivre.

This was previously shared on EOR’s blog…

Water affects every aspect of our lives, yet nearly one billion people around the world don’t have clean drinking water, and 2.6 billion still lack basic sanitation. World Water Day, celebrated annually on March 22, was established by the United Nations in 1992 and focuses attention on the world’s water crisis, as well as the solutions to address it.

This year, a collaborative of US-based organizations have joined to raise awareness and call for stronger commitments from governments, the private sector, and US citizens for water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) initiatives in low-income countries.

By deploying the solutions that already exist, we can save the lives of thousands of children each day, advance education and employment – especially among women and girls – and fuel economic growth around the world.

Here at Ethiopian Orphan Relief, Inc.  we are pleased to call attention to the expansion of world  water day to world water week.  All of us invested in the success of Ethiopia understand that the lack of clean drinkable water  for much of the country limits the growth and prosperity of the nation. Girls who spend their days carrying water have little time for school and literacy.  The mortality rate for children without access to clean drinking water remains unacceptably high.

EOR remains committed to the goal of providing clean water to Ethiopia.  Although our original plan to build a well in Boru was tabled, our amazing board member, Lauren, is actively searching for a new water project to fund.  To date, we’ve raised more than $7000.00 USD for this project, but we’d LOVE to add more to the total.

Think of how important clean water is to you.  Remember the gratitude you feel every time you’re thirsty  and can sip the beverage of your choice and then think of the many children of Ethiopia, mostly girls, who spend the day carrying heavy jerry cans of water so their families can enjoy the same privilege.

I’ll be making an additional donation to EOR this week, to benefit our water fund.  I hope you’ll consider doing the same.

I took the kids to a St. Patrick’s Day Parade this morning (you might recall that a certain girl is VERY fond of parades).  We were appropriately decked out in verdant hues–the little queen even had some green ribbons in her hair.  I parked a million miles from the route, so we had a long but pleasant walk to the horses! which are the most important part of any parade going experience.  We passed a lot of people, most of whom chatted up my tots.  One woman waiting at a light with us,  tried to engage Astrid Meklit.  She talked about the parade, agreed that the horses are the best part, and then asked Astrid if she was Irish.  Somewhat evasive before this question, AM yelled, “NO, I’m Ethiopian!”  We laughed, and the woman persisted, saying everyone’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, and again the small habesha gal cried, “No, I’m only Ethiopian!”

How she knew that Irish was similar to Ethiopian I’ll never know, but Astrid Meklit  (and everyone else in her vicinity) know she is an Ethiopian girl!