We’re in a new routine this semester — on Thursdays Braydon brings K & O to their Kung Fu class. The class is from 5:00-5:30, but (between getting out the door, the drive to/from, getting coats/boots/hats/mittens on/off, getting settled in and getting back out, etc. etc.) they are actually gone from about 4:30-6:00. This is an hour and a half each week that I get to spend alone with Meera. This time of day has always been her hardest (as I think it is for almost all babies/toddlers/kids/grown-ups), but still… it is such a nice treat to get to spend a good chunk of time with her each Thursday afternoon/evening. Kyle and Owen used to love playing in the sink when they were Meera’s age. This water play has become a great activity for Meera and I while the boys are all out at Kung Fu.
BAMBINOS
The boys have been obsessed with the Lion King ever since we went to see it for our Adoption Day (click). We bought the Broadway show soundtrack (click) for them, and they listen to it obsessively every single day. Oftentimes they not only listen to it, but act out their favorite parts to the music. They have a few of the songs memorized. And they are Simba for large portions of each day. Owen got it in his head that he really, really wanted me to “paint” him to look like the “Young Simba” from the play. He obsessed over this until finally I found, and bought, body paint so that I could do it. We’ve done the body-paint-Young-Simba thing a couple times now. The boys love it. Meera wants a little something painted on her, too, of course. And then they all dance around dramatically to the Lion King music– Kyle and Owen acting out key parts of the story, and Meera just trying her best to keep up with them. It is all very action packed. You can just imagine. Anyway… the funniest part is that we go through this whole dramatic LionKingMania, and then, just as if nothing ever happened, next thing you know, we’re all eating dinner… body paint and all. On the particular night of the photos below it was all very dramatic and action-packed, and then… sure enough… we found ourselves eating chili. Never, ever a dull moment around these parts.
The earthquake was four weeks ago today. To say that we’ve been profoundly effected by this is an understatement. We feel that the earth shifted under our feet — figuratively speaking, that is, of course — because we are incessantly conscientiously aware that the part of the earth on which we live did not, in fact, shake under us… which makes it just feel so very, very wrong to even mention the grief and despair and world-turned-upside-down-feelings that we are feeling here in the J-M household in these days since January 12. I really just don’t know what to say about it. All I know is that I can’t seem to find a way to bring myself back to acting like all is “normal” and o.k. when, really, it isn’t. There is a lot going on with this, much of which I cannot write about on the blog. For now, we’re just trying to live through this, since we know that there is no good or right way to try to live around it, over it, or under it. It is what it is. It is our life. And so we keep on with it.
Today I bought three copies of this special edition that Time Magazine recently put out. I bought them — 1 for each of our children — to put away with the special items that I’m collecting for them. Some day, when the time is right (like when they are 16 or 18 or 20), I’ll give each of them a box of special meaningful items that I’ve been collecting for them over the years of their lives. For Kyle and Owen, over the past six years, amongst other things I’ve been storing away some special Haiti-related things. Never in a million years could I ever have imagined I’d be putting something like this into their boxes.
We’re not ones to repost other blog posts, but I think this really deserves mention. Previously we were not CNN followers and didn’t know of Anderson Cooper other than in passing. But with their coverage of Haiti lately, we’ve become fans. And with the latest blog post Anderson wrote we’re now a lot more than fans.
He captures the sentiment a lot of people who are not in Haiti, but who have been there and have a connection to Haiti, feel right now. We’ve always said that once you go, it gets under your skin. It’s a rather trite saying, particularly right now, but maybe it has meaning.
For anyone who has been to Haiti at any time, his comments will resonate. For everyone who cares about the world not forgetting; we appreciate what Anderson Cooper and CNN are doing.
http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2010/02/08/why-im-back-in-haiti/comment-page-1/#comment-992142
There’s more going on here than just a fun time, but man oh man did Kyle and Owen have a blast at their first day of Kung Fu. A ton of running around, learning some basics for kicks, punches and blocks, and a quick lesson in discipline (not listening results in 5 push-ups – and not keeping your hands up results in a gentle tap on the head – since you missed keeping the teacher’s hand away from your head). For these new Little Dragons, it was a great start.
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