Ending 2012

After a week with family and Ashram friends, today was a bit of a letdown.  We were home alone, just the three of us with piles of laundry, presents, and snow gear.  But we survived.  Selim and I did a big grocery shop run while Nedim cooked dinner.  While the sun was out and the wind not as fierce, Selim started a new snow cave.

There was so much snow, that our garden statuary were partially hidden.

And we have icicles.

So, this is it for 2012.  I'm not exactly sure what 2013 will bring.  I start a new chapter at work by having my own team to supervise.  I'll still be on second shift -- seeing my family for 45 minutes a day and sleeping no more that 5 1/2 hours a night.  Selim will march on through second grade and into third.  Nedim continues with his projects, the Turkish American Cultural Center, and in good weather, the boat.  I hope this is a year that we can follow through on our desire to have sit down dinners together as a family on the weekends.  I would love to have better house management.  I hope I can resurrect  my exercise routine in January, after going on hiatus during the month of December.  I wish for more patience in every aspect of life -- including myself.  I need to get on the stick and work on learning Turkish as my sister-in-law said the other day in perfect English, "Good afternoon, how are you?"  And of course, eat more vegetables.

More snow and friendship

This has been the snow week.  Heather, Stan, Max, and Joshua left this morning before 8:00 so that they could drive most of the way back to New York in favorable driving conditions.  A quick moving storm from the Ohio Valley was poised to hit New England in the late morning.  They left so early that they forgot to take any portion of the double batch of Nanaimo bars, leaving two pans in the fridge.  Good for our taste buds, bad for the waist line.

It was also too early for lots of parting photos.  But I managed to snap a couple before they left.

Even though they left, I didn't break the tea date with Susan Shannon.  We had a sweet visit that included show and tell photos of Matt's new house and lots of grandson pictures.  It would have felt weird to be here a whole week and not see Susan and catch up.  And the same with Miriam who came over yesterday.  It is important to sneak in adult conversation when we can.

Around 11:00 Amy and I went on a walk down the road.  The snow had started, but we were determined to get a bit of exercise while our boys were off snowboarding (hers) and skiing (mine) with Robert and Jero.  (Robert had gotten Selim skies at the school swap and last night adjusted the bindings to fit.)  Turns out the place they went wasn't open, despite the website indicating that they were open on weekends. It was Saturday morning...fresh snow on the ground...and they were closed.  But they did let the guys walk up the bunny slopes and ski/board down.  After a few runs, the little guys got cold and they came back.  We had turned around at Pine Stump Rd and were headed up Osgood Road when they passed us.

I am so fortunate to have lady friends of long standing.  We don't talk every day or even every week.  But when we do get together, conversation is easy, life affirming, informative, thought provoking, and fun (not to mention a pressure release valve for me).  In crisis they are there for me and my family.  In good times we share laughter and insight and silliness.  Sometimes I am amazed that I lucked out in these friendships because I have a hard time making friends.  I'm not very good at developing new relationships and I really count on the ones that I have.  I am so lucky to be able to share my life and learn about theirs.  My life is enriched by their company.

Today on our walk Amy asked me what I would consider Selim's passion.  What a great question!  I answered with creativity.  He loves Lego's and modifying his creations.  He speaks in rapture about new art sets / boxes.  A new tub of crayons or markers is a treasure.  A trip to the craft shop is a grand adventure.  I wish that I could draw better and enjoyed that activity more.  I like sewing and playing with fabric and pattern in cloth and other textiles.  I wish I were more crafty and relished craft type projects that we could do together.  But I think the creative process and accompanying tools of the trade get him going like nothing else.

On the way back up the hill we were discussing what are the characteristics of good leadership in kids. To my way of thinking, it is more than Selim getting other children to do what he wants.  There are components of organization, vision, persuasion, kindness, listening and taking the emotional pulse of the group that make up his leadership style.  It was a great conversation and got me thinking about specifics in a way in which I had not done before.  I was revved when I got back to the house.  And sweaty.  The last up hill mile is a killer.

So cheers to friendships!  May we enjoy many more years of our interwoven lives together!

Post Christmas fun

The day after Christmas is the traditional Schongalla clan gathering.  With all hands on deck in the morning, we mashed potatoes and made salad for 23 and arranged the cookie platters to bring down.  Our estimated departure time was between 10:00 and 10:30.  My car was the first one out at 10:14, right on time.

We arrived on time, as the traffic was light and we cruised right down.  Nancy, Gary, and Dillon arrived ahead of us.  They brought the appetizers and we grazed on delicious cheese, crackers, hummus, pita bread,  nuts, and dip.  When Todd and Jen came, they added fresh carrots from their garden along with salsa made from their own tomatillos, chips, mushroom pate and other veggies.  Sometimes it is hard to remember to save room for dinner because it is so easy to nosh in between conversations.  While I was munching out, Selim and Joshua were playing with Sarah.

Selim showed Joshua the ropes.  Where to sit for maximum snack advantage as well as finding his name tag on the table in the dining room.

Dinner time conversation ranged from our work, my three weeks in London this summer, history of the Second Amendment, issues surrounding gun control, the ease of getting foreign visas to study abroad, and the process that medical students go through we getting assigned to their residency assignment.  From the other table I caught snatches of the ease and difficulty of studying Italian and Chinese, what adds to the feeling of safety while in the midst of protests in Cairo, and the importance of having a local bringing you in and out of dangerous areas in Mexico.  When we get together we bring a wide array of experiences and opinions that are so interesting to explore.

Because of the impending storm, the gathering broke up a bit earlier than usual.  We left at 5:30 when the snow just started.  Because of an accident just south of the Bedford tolls, our ride home lasted over 2 hours. The flashing police, ambulance and fire truck lights kept the boys entertained for a bit while traffic was at the pace of a snail.  We made it back home in time to watch one of our all time favorite TV shows, the Kennedy Center Honors.

The forecast had been for 6-12 inches of snow overnight.  I think we got about 3.  But it was enough to get most of us up and out of bed and out to the sledding hill at an early hour.  Jacob and Jero joined Robert, Heather, Joshua, Selim, and I in the blowing wind and snow for a few runs.

Without proper snow gear, Heather went in first.  Joshua was next after an impressive face plant in the snow when he rolled out of the sled.  Robert brought him back in.  At one point Selim tried to escape my camera by hiding underneath his sled.

I didn't let him off the hook.  When I walked back up the hill, he didn't realize that his back side was so exposed.

That left Jero to fend of the snowball attacks from Selim and Jacob.  I made him pose before we went in.  One can last only so long with that much snow in the face.

After some inside time, we went back out in the afternoon with Todd and Jen.  Todd brought sleds from home that he had been using to carry firewood.  Turns out that might not have been the best use of the blue plastic.  We heard the crack of the first one when he hit the edge of the track.  The second one experienced the same fate.

Jen took Joshua down a gentler slope and the two of them made a few successful runs before getting cold and heading back in.

Soon the sledding made way for a full on snowball fight.

Selim tried to use the sled as a shield.  Sometimes in worked, and sometimes it didn't.  It was hard to through and hold the sled as a shield at the same time.

I managed to humor my guy into a photo or two with me.  Can I look any fatter if I tried?  Nothing like a puffy down jacket to help the self esteem in the looks department.

The trick to snowball fights is knowing when to stop.  We managed (I say we, as if I were participating.  I wasn't, just documenting) to have a cease fire before anybody got too hurt of cold.  We wrapped up our day with potato soup with homemade croutons, salad and blue cheese biscuits.  And because we still had lots of chocolate left over from baking, Heather made hot fudge sauce to put on top of the strawberry, vanilla, and mint chocolate chip ice cream.  Yummy!

I have so many more photos from the day.  I'll have do do a separate spread of Selim with snow around his face or Selim making faces at me or Jacob and Selim together as best buds.  But this is enough for now.  Time to get the tacos going for dinner!

Christmas

Let's see...when I last posted, Selim asked Santa for marzipan and I was trying to set the expectation bar very low.  Little did I know that Santa was able to accommodate.  When we woke up Christmas morning, the plate of cookies had been replaced with a plate of marzipan sweets and chocolate peanut butter cups!  Most excellent.  Selim has taken credit for that development ever since.   After all, he was the one who asked.

Despite waking up at 0'dark hundred, the boys waited patiently until 7:30 when they were allowed to go downstairs and wake up Max.  I was able to bake two batches of scones, one chocolate and one flavored with cardamon and orange zest.  Nedim surprised us by walking up the stairs right as the present unwrapped began.  It was so sweet to have him sitting on the couch with me.  Sometimes he feels a bit funny on Christmas morning because it isn't his holiday and doesn't give gifts nor does he expect any.  But he enjoys making Selim happy, so there he sat, taking it all in and unwrapping a few things himself.

For some reason, Selim has been wanting a suit.  I didn't spring for the pants and jacket, but I did get him a dress shirt and tie.  Looking at his is time warpish.  He looks so much older than he did a few minutes prior when he was in his pajamas.  What a different attire can make!

How we managed to extend the gift portion of the morning until 9:00 is a mystery.  The boys didn't race through, instead they enjoyed handing out gifts to others and examining the ones they opened themselves.  To top it all off, light snow started falling making our day a white Christmas.   The light coating was just enough to make sledding possible.  The fresh air and physical activity was a much needed antidote to the chocolate in the stockings and excitement of new toys.

Since Mom opted out for the sledding, I had to get a few pictures of her in the kitchen with her girls.

After lunch, we bundled back up and went for a walk.  On our way out to the East field, we pick up Amy, Jero and Jacob and they came along as well.  Selim and Jacob would race ahead on the trail and hide behind trees, jumping out and trying to scare everybody else.  They are quite the tracking duo.

It was a beautiful afternoon with the fresh snow adding more sparkle to our already sweet day.  No surprise, I took lots of pictures.  I got the men folk.  For some reason the composition of the photo reminds me of an album cover.  Not sure what we would call this band if they were musicians...

And Nedim showing off his teeth, yet again.

I handed the camera over to Stan so that he could take one of the ladies.

At one point going up the hill, Joshua decided that he didn't want to walk any more.

So he got more shoulder rides on the way down.

Everybody trooped back over to Mom and Robert's for chai and sweets.  It was a great walk...day...family time...sharing..reliving past adventures together...recounting of time spent with Sant Ji in India during the holiday season...eating cookies and drinking tea...remembrances of what the day is supposed to be all about.  Merry Christmas!