Rock To Wind A String Around

I’m eager to update but just last week I spilled water into my laptop keyboard (so very smart…..)  and I’m waiting impatiently for a replacement.

We had an old keyboard put away, but it’s missing the space bar (really–where could it have disappeared to?) so typing with it is more challenging than I envisioned. We’re back from our Southern California adventure (complete with smoky hazy skies) and I’m looking forward to sharing the details of Astrid’s birthday, the trip, etc. soon, soon

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Tomorrow is the big day—-Astrid Meklit will officially be one…….I’m so pleased we got to share most of the first year with her.  She’s such a funny, fabulous person, I feel so honored to be the one she calls ‘Mama’ with that loud, commanding voice . 

My thoughts have turned again and again to her first family this week.  They are  so often in my head, this unknown group of people I thank again and again.  I wish there was some way to share with them, this joy they have given.  I want them to know how amazing this daughter of ours is—how desperately she is loved.  It’s so unjust, that my every happiness is built firmly upon their sorrow.  I worry about them—this nameless, faceless family—I wonder who is missing this baby tonight–her mother or grandmother?  Perhaps an uncle?   I’ll never be able to tell them about the amazing girl who kisses herself in the mirror, who squeals each and every time her brother walks in the room, who claps for airplanes and ‘The Itsy-Bitsy Spider.’  They’ll never know of her deep and abiding love of gomen, sauerkraut or strawberries, her preference for the pink blanket, or her slavish devotion to ‘Goodnight Moon.’  We’ll never be able to share any of this with them, this family who shared so much with us.

And so, on to the next great adventure.  Tomorrow will be filled with presents and balloons and gluten-free cupcakes, a trip to Fairyland and a pretty party dress.  Pictures will be taken, and then?  We’ll begin her second year together—-Mama, DAD!, Buh,  and the brand new toddler,  lovely Astrid Meklit.

 Ahmasegenalo, first family.

Great news abounds here on the internets.  Another Bay Area family, Jen and Lionel received a referral for a beautiful baby girl.  Their lovely new daughter is just a month younger than Astrid–I hope the two will know each other well.

 Run, (if you haven’t had the chance) to their blog and share your best wishes–they’ve waited SO long to be this happy!

*Um, this is my first link attempt and if it doesn’t work, you can find Jen and Lionel’s blog in my list of links.

We’re firmly entrenched in the month of October, always my favorite, and somehow, the world just feels ‘righter.’  There are homeschooling groups to attend, classes for Elliott most afternoons, and a rhythm is slowly beginning to take over the soundtrack of our days.   I think we’ve started to recover from the shock of cross-country! move and new baby–we don’t seem as engulfed as we did in the early days, and consequently, we all seem to find more to enjoy in our daily life–like Fall, and honeycrisp apples, and a decent eyebrow wax (okay, I’m the only one in the family who appreciates that, but you know what I mean…)

I think about this time last year, and just how crazy and out-of-control life seemed.  I was sure, in my heart of hearts, that our referral would come no later than October 4th (it came on January 2) and the extra-long wait for the baby coupled with uncertainty about Albert’s new role for 2007 (as well as the move that would accompany it) made for an exhausting October 2006.  By November, I was more stoic about the unexplained referral wait, and it looked like we’d be moving to DC, so we could propel ourselves into action, but last October was a dark month for me.

This year, my October is BACK.   The Halloween decorations are up, Astrid’s costume supplies are waiting for assembly, and there is baking occurring at semi-regular intervals.  Albert is frenetically busy at work, but we have a vacation to look forward to in a few weeks, and of course, Astrid Meklit is lurching (at breakneck speed) toward her first birthday.    Such a different pattern to our days this year–Astrid has left her ‘easy’ babyhood to become a sunny, strong-willed toddler and I love almost every change (although Astrid Darling, if you were to choose to sleep in places away from home, it would make life with an active big brother much easier on all of us.  No pressure, mind you, just something to wrap your juicy brain around while you are awake and unhappy in the late afternoons that Elliott has tennis, chess or art…).  I thought I’d mourn the loss of her quiet infancy–we came so late to the party (not meeting until she was 5 months old) but really, she’s such an engaging, verbal totlet, I’m eager to know what comes next.  I think that’s the fundamental difference between  the two Octobers.  Last year, I couldn’t wait for the next big thing, this year, I’m just eager to be in the know.  Just the exchange of a few words, but therein, all the difference in the world.