Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Omwana taba womoi, or, It takes a village to raise a child

I don't think it's a secret, at least not to the people who have been around me for the past couple of years, how much I love the Pacific Northwest.  The love affair started many moons ago with a cookbook called Pacific Northwest: The Beautiful Cookbook by Kathy Casey.  I don't know why but the pictures and recipes in that book just spoke to me.  

At long last, DH and I had the chance to go visit some long time family friends in 2010 and then again in 2011, let's just say it was love at first sight and I fell hard.  Since our first trip DH has heard me repeatedly say things about us moving out there, how I love the water, the climate, the people, etc., on and on... I looked for and applied to jobs out there with the plan that if I was offered one, we would move out and then DH would have to find something there as well, (hang in there, I swear this is going somewhere)...
Water
and mountains...
I don't think my pictures do the place justice, but you get the point...

But then, things changed.  First, I got pregnant (no biggie, right?) and felt like I was sleep walking through life for the first few months.  I was exhausted all the time, my brain didn't function properly and I was sick for what felt like non-stop.  I was grateful that I wasn't at a new job, with new coworkers/boss having to prove myself to them, instead I was in what I might call a "loving" environment, working for and with people who knew me, what I was capable of, and were patient and understanding of my circumstances.  Unexpectedly, events during this past summer in the community I work in further changed my situation.  All of a sudden, my program was getting local, state and national coverage (check me out on NPR and the BBC, links and autographs sent for free) and I was being recognized at a higher level than ever before for my work... career-wise, it was time to stay put.

At the same time, the people in our lives reminded us what community really meant.  From the very beginning, we received tons of help and advice with my pregnancy.  Congratulations and enthusiasm when we felt like deer caught in headlights.  Lemon and ginger teas, sour patch goodies, almonds, crackers and preggie pops to help with the constant nausea and vomiting.  Chat fests and moral support to let me vent, ask questions and voice my insanity.  Three different baby showers! And then came the hand-me-downs of clothes and all sorts of other goodies to stock baby for the first 9 months at the very least.  In all that we also had a savvy bargain hunter (and advice guru) who helped locate a Pack-n-Play and a Bobby pillow.  Our baby would lack nothing because of our community.

And then, the child who from now on in the blog will be known as "Bundle" (at this time it stands for bundle of joy but it could be bundle of "I'm going out of my mind" or bundle of Chinese sleep deprivation torture, etc., at some point as well) came along... she's only two and a half weeks old but I am so in love! (Yes, go ahead and get mushy on me, but only briefly!)  Both DH and I are enchanted by this little one.


Bundle has reminded me and opened my eyes as to how lucky we are.  Lucky and grateful, because she's perfectly healthy (we were worried about jaundice and diabetes for a minute there), she has 10 fingers and 10 toes, the cutest facial expressions and hilarious little noises and squeaks come out of her. Lucky and grateful because even though my relatives all live far away from her, we have a ton of aunties and uncles, who are all here (or a phone call away), ready and willing to lend a hand, give support and love her and her parents.

Do I still yearn to live in the Pacific Northwest? Absolutely.  But for now, I'm happy and extremely grateful that we don't live there.  That we are in the right place and the right time for our Bundle to have this lovely village that is here for her.

To all of you who have helped and supported us - THANK YOU! We don't know what we would do without you!