Here and There

• Gorgeous green summer landscapes
• Hydrangeas to-die-for everywhere
• An amazing book I can't put down
• History and the blue of the Atlantic around every corner
• A summer shawl in progress

Dressing in Spain

A mom fabulously dressed for the playground

I am having such fun people-watching here. People seem to enjoy getting dressed in Spain. Overall, they tend to dress up more than in the States- even when wearing jeans and a T, they somehow seem more pulled-together. Maybe everything is ironed, or a woman’s bag matches her shoes or just that the cut of the pants or shirt are more trendy, almost vanguard. I love watching people of all ages- the beautiful dresses that moms put their girls in to play on the playground, the older women perfectly coifed, the heels everyone somehow is able to wear in spite of the tiled sidewalks and steep, steep hills.

Whenever I arrive, I’m always taken aback or puzzled by some trend- mullets on young guys, pants with a super-baggy inseam and skinny legs on young girls… and yet, by the end of the month I find myself thinking: hmmmmm… could I pull that look off back home? (Almost always the answer is NO, especially as I get older), but it’s fun to check everyone out and enjoy the creativity.

One thing I really like is how babies are not limited to pastel shades of blue and pink. There are lots of options available for both sexes here, to the point that I’m sometimes surprised. The other day I was in the baby section of El Corte Inglés, a very popular department store all over the country, and a woman, holding up an outfit, asked the sales lady if it was for a boy or a girl. It was overalls with puffy legs in a deep pink with a white shirt that had embroidery and ruffles on the neck and wrist. I scoffed to myself; of course it was for a girl, but the sales lady and another woman standing nearby entered in debate. “It’s for a boy.” “No, it could be either.” The three finally decided that yes, the outfit could be for either a baby girl or a boy. It has also happened a few times that people have thought Belalu was a boy, even though she was wearing what would definitely be considered “girl” colors and styles in the US. The reason she had to be a boy? Her ears weren’t pierced.

I love these fun differences of cultural perceptions that remind me what I take to be a given, doesn't have to be. It's all in our perception of reality. It's one of the reasons I love to travel- to expand my views and to keep me open-minded.

Walking: Our after-lunch route

Yummy Breakfast

Each morning we take turns going to get a coffee. JC reads the paper, I read a book in preparation for a new course I'm teaching in the fall on Puerto Rican culture and history. We both get a little time to ourselves before the day gets fully underway. Today I just had to order one of my favorite Spanish breakfasts: a grilled croissant. I love it with jam, which I haven't added yet in the pic. It is so decadent and heavenly. Another thing I love about breakfasts here is that when you order an orange juice, it's always freshly squeezed. At this place, one of my favorite bar/cafés in the neighborhood, they always give you a little glass of OJ with your coffee.

Boston

We flew out of Boston last Thursday evening, so we took the day to visit with my sis there. We had to visit the duck sculptures in the Public Garden, since Make Way for Ducklings is a family fav. Then we visited with the real ducks in the pond.

Summer 2010

Summer 2012

Maine: Visiting

It was a quick visit in Maine, but we packed in as many visits as we could to family and friends. 

• Belalu met another baby, two months younger than her, although already much taller. They did a good job of sharing their toys :)
• We didn't make it to the beach this year, but did get a swim in the pool.
• I squeezed in a quick trip for some local yarn for a travel project and Juju helped to wind it.
• Belalu tried out my old baby bonnet, which fits her perfectly.
• Bumpa took us to the fire station for a visit. 
• There was lots of playing in the new jungle gym that Bumpa built.

Maine Seafood Dinner

One of the things I miss most about not living in Maine anymore is all the fresh yummy lobster.  Growing up, I have lots of memories of my grandfather stopping by the house to drop off a bunch of lobsters he had caught that morning. So I always make sure to get in some lobster rolls when there. One night we had the most amazing summer meal on my parent's patio. Seafood chowder, lobster rolls (toasted, with lettuce and a hint of mayo), corn on the cob, and strawberry shortcakes for dessert. We were in heaven.

Juju took charge of assembling and "designing" the strawberry shortcakes. He came up with adding a bit of chocolate to each. Of course, I don't know much that doesn't get a bit better with a little chocolate ;)

This Journey of Motherhood

Machu Pichu, Peru 2007

It's commonly said, usually with negative implications, that motherhood changes your identity. I strongly believed this before I had my son, and it was one of the reasons that I wanted to wait until I was 30 before becoming a parent. I figured that I would live my life in my 20s, traveling and finding out who I was, earn my Ph.D. and then settle down to parenthood and promptly lose that self that I had spent so long finding/establishing. I waved out my youth by taking an amazing 40-day trip through four South American countries with a great group of college kids, and then stoically faced what I perceived to be the inevitable decline into middle-age and becoming no longer me, but rather just "_________'s mom".

Of course, I quickly learned that motherhood did not take away who I am. Rather, it enriched who I was, as any significant love will do. I still have the same interests, which I can now share with my children, and it didn't even stop us from traveling. Before he was two years old, Essie had been as far as the Portlands on both coasts and down to Kansas, as well as Puerto Rico, Spain, and Argentina. Motherhood clearly did not slow me down after all.

El desierto de Atacama, Bolivia 2007

Three months pregnant with Belalu in Puerto Rico 2011

When Belalu was born and spent the first 10 days in the NICU, it all felt so surreal. Neither of us have had significant health problems in our family, the pregnancy went fine... we just kept wondering how we ended up there. And as we've spent the past 9 months trying to figure out what is wrong with her, if there's anything wrong with her and are now facing the likelihood that she has dwarfism, I have once again had my perception of who I am challenged.

Before, I imagined that parents of special needs children were somehow more saintly and more patient than the rest of us. I am by no means either of these things. And yet, here we are. On a journey we never expected to take.  Emily Perl Kingsley wrote a wonderful metaphor that describes well the experience of coming to accept your role as a parent of a special needs child, called  Welcome to Holland.

I am grateful to both of my children for helping me become a more wise, loving, tolerant, and patient person. I've still got a long way to go, but motherhood is shaping me into a better person than I ever could have been without them.

Amsterdam, Holland 2006: One of my favorite cities I've visited