Random Ethiopia Photo Wednesday

My two girls, exactly five months ago.  We’ve come a long way in such a short time.  Happy Wednesday!

 

The fever and flu beast loves us

Telling yourself that you can’t POSSIBLY be sick again, that we have already had more than our share of bugs around here this winter, and that it is totally irrational that such healthy (ha!) people are always getting sick, doesn’t work to fend off anything.  Nor does insisting to yourself that nausea and body aches are not an option because you have lots to do, including work, taking care of the kids, and getting ready for a marathon that is now only 5 weeks away.  How is this possible?  I feel horrible today and wasn’t feeling so hot yesterday either, the esposo has been moaning and coughing around here for 3 days now, and all night the 8 year old was awake off and on, miserable, crying and burning up with fever.  This has been a hard winter – although in many ways, also a very good winter, of course!  But… life can be hard.  Especially when you’re sick.  More cheery posts later.  I have tons of stuff I want to get up before I forget it all.  But for now, I better get my germy self out the door and off to contaminate the rest of the workforce.

Dancing girl

   I was going to do a “real” post today with something to say, but again I’m going to take the quick-picture-post approach.  Since I felt pretty good after the race on Saturday I ran 10 miles on Sunday, which should have helped me to sleep, but last night I couldn’t turn off my overactive brain so today I’m paying the price…. I’m feeling so, so tired again.  Here is my baby dancing in the hotel room when Grammie and Grampa came to visit.  She’s really got some enthusiasm, that kid.  I should mention that it is snowing here today.  Isn’t it almost May??  More later. :)

 

 

Downtown

These pictures are from last weekend, when we made it to the opening day of the Farmers’ market!  We also got there just in time to protest China’s hosting of the Olympics…. Oops!  I guess we were supporting them.

We alternated sympathies with the Tibetan crowd (protesting horrid human rights abuses) and our neighbors, the great majority of whom are proud and loyal Chinese.  It was fun, but Zufan slept through most of it in the Ergo.  But I was right — not a veggie in sight.  Just lots of cheese.

Today, I ran a short race, 5 miles, with some 10,000 other crazy people who were wearing shorts in 30 degree weather, and had a great time doing it.  They all turned out for the free beer  — which I don’t drink.  Usually.  I placed 1,171 out of 10,174.  Everyone and their grandma ran this race.  I love this town.

Dire Tune after winning at 112th Boston

I love this.  It’s a beautiful day out there today.  Happy Thurday everyone!

 

Random Ethiopia Photo Wednesday: First meeting with Zufan

This was minutes after we met Zufan.  We had peeked at her asleep the night before, at 11:00 when we got in, then we woke up early to visit her this morning before breakfast.  She was scared to death of us, of me especially, but the nanny gave us the food and Zufan let me hold her.  I really didn’t know what to do with that big bowl of cereal and such a floppy little baby.  Zufan seemed too young to eat it!  Seems like a lifetime ago.

Budding author

Zufan loves to “write.”  She loves markers, crayons, pens, even pointy sticks and lego swords will do.  She turns them all into writing tools.  Her fine motor skills aren’t far behind her big brother’s. 

Is it only Tuesday, people???  I’m so tired.  So, so tired.  I need a new gameplan.  But I’m too tired to make a plan, or a game, or even know what a game plan consists of.  I barely remember my new-parent days, when every moment was filled with an educational experience.  Ha ha ha!!!  Where has supermom gone??!!  Now, I’m living hour by hour, just getting by, and I consider sending the kids outside to pick dandelions “educational.”  (yes, we have them already.)  Not a good way to do it.  Only 3 more weeks of paid work, then the nonexistent gameplan is going to be resurrected and reworked.

The kids and I watched the video again of Dire Tune winning Boston a couple of times yesterday, and Zufan yelled along with us and hit at the screen.  I think she enjoyed it!  I’m so glad I’m not the only one who gets all emotional seeing it, thanks for the comments.  And if you haven’t seen it, really, watch it, see if you feel the emotional punch, too.  The kids and I are off to exercise now.  More tomorrow!

 

Watch Ethiopia’s Dire Tune win the Boston marathon today!

Boston Marathon 2008 Women’s Finish

The 8 year old and I watched the finish of this morning’s marathon screaming at the computer screen.  This is what we watched.  Seeing the Ethiopian woman Dire Tune, age 22 from Addis, win made me cry.  I know, crazy, but we were taking it pretty personally! 

Also, great job in the men’s race by Kenyan Robert Cheruiyot, finishing in 2:07:46.  Amazing.  Even after the elites finished I still got NOTHING done this morning after work, because I went directly to my computer and refreshed the athlete tracker every five mintutes until all the people I know who were running today finished.  Oh well.  Pretty inspirational, these athletes, they are my heroes. 

Zufan and her purse

She loves this silly purse, and carried it all around this weekend with her arm up and bent like this.  Too funny!  More later!

 

Haiti in my heart

I’ve had Haiti on my mind a lot lately.  Many times a day I think about the people there, the volatile political situation, killings, HIV, poverty.  I worry about the kids I see on the photolistings, about the kids already matched with families who are stuck waiting and waiting, and about the kids on the street.  Whenever I feel sad about something in my life and then I think about Haiti, I’m jolted back to the reality of how GOOD I have it.  This was on the front page of the NY Times today: Tyler Hicks/The New York Times / In a garbage dump in Port-au-Prince, people recently scavenged for food.

I think of Leslie and Cara, waiting for their kids, and of Jenny, working in the clinic there (all linked in the blogroll), and I’m sure hoping for better times for Haiti, soon.  When we go to Puerto Rico we are so close to Haiti.  Someday, I want to go there, bringing the kids along of course, and I want to DO something.  We could spend a summer helping out in some way.  No one should live like the people of Haiti are forced to live right now.  Someday, I hope Haiti’s beauty and fighting spirit conquers its poverty.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7341467.stm