I Was Right

Remember how I said that things happen when Daddy is away? Ok, well, maybe you thought I was overreacting. Maybe, just a little, right? And I can see why you might assume that. So I wanted to give you the update. So far

• The electricity was out all last night, which meant that the kids woke up and wandered around because their fan was off. Which meant that I didn't sleep well at all.
• My landlord gave me down the road today because he didn't like where J had gone, didn't think it was a good place to be, etc. As if that weren't bad enough, my landlady sat next to me, glumly, and sniffed her sadness/disapproval that I haven't been down to see her regularly enough in the last two weeks. She managed to say in Hindi (at one point), "Well, look who has time for us today!"
• And--wait for it--I found lice in G's head tonight. And out of all of the above, that is what almost made me cry.

But I can't write about that last bit of madness unless I also include D's trip to the chemist shop for me. And then the fact that the washer women sneaked upstairs to my apartment (servants are not allowed upstairs by our landlords and she was nervous) and explained exactly how to use the oil/shampoo combo for G. She is the salt of the earth, that one. And then she sneaked back down almost before I could say thanks.

C'est le guerre

Well, J and J made it safely to their destination despite rain and fog. I'm glad, I really am. But I've been homeschooling three froggy, wild-eyed, zany kids today and they somehow know that without Daddy I possess exactly half my parenting strength. And so, instead of being extra good and sweet and cooperative, they are being extra whiny, extra contentious, and extra bratty. So pardon me if my mood is a little...testy, shall we say. Sigh.

C'est la vie, non? Well, c'est le guerre, les enfants. C'est le guerre.

Imprints

Long after we return to the States these images will linger on in our imaginations.

Remember Us

J leaves tomorrow with a friend to attend a big 'meeting' in another city. It's been a long time in coming and we anticipate good things to come from it. Please remember him this weekend (he'll be gone for 2 1/2 days) and ask for traveling mercies. Remember us, too, as we'll be left at home. Sometimes crazy things go on for Mom and the kids when Daddy is out of town. But then, there's always a push me-pull you effect whenever good things happen or are on the brink of happening. A counter-effect or downward drag. It's the way of things here and we have come to expect it. Still, if people are praying ...

Hamne Aram Kia

The sleepover went well, we laughed a lot, and the kids had fun. We are all safe and the day has passed uneventfully. If anything unusual happens in the next few hours, I'll let you know.

Sleepover

The entire 'M' family is staying the night with us tonight. Our town is a bit wack-tastic at the moment, so we thought we'd have a team sleepover. We are going to have fun tonight!

Blech

Today has been a rough-ish day. Everyone is physically ok so there's no need to worry. But please, if you think of it, lift us up today.

Little Miss Thing

For Mamaw and Papaw who bought this dress for G.

On a Clear Day...

Today there was NO RAIN. Things were able to dry out and there was a smidge of sunshine. It made a difference and for that we are grateful.

Breakfast at Tiffany's

J and I watched Breakfast at Tiffany's last night, and all I can say is, that movie is so much sadder than I remembered. I've watched it (with my two faithful sisters) approximately 1,000,000 times since early high school. Each time I swooned over Holly Golightly's clothes, her lipstick, her wonderful blond streaks. I loved her quirkiness and her rail-thinness. And what about that Paul Varjak?

But this time I watched it and even when the two stars kissed at the end, and we knew they'd be together, with cat in tow, I felt sad and dull. Because they were both so damaged and were carrying enough baggage between the two of them to be charged extra by Delta. When the credits rolled I just hugged J and thanked the Lord once again that I've been with the most normal, kind, compassionate, consistent guy I know for 12 years and counting.

But I'll still take Holly's clothes...

Rain, Rain, Go Away

I have never lived through so much rain in all my born days. It has poured sheets for five days with no more than a 30 minute break here and there. And that would be ok except that D's ceiling has some kind of leak and she wakes up to standing water on her floor almost every morning. It's gray and cold these days, and I've never been happier that I practically bought out Yankee Candle when we were in the States. Votives, tea lights in all kinds of yummy smells. These are the little things that make the difference between a gunmetal day and one with a little cheer. Oh, and it helps that D is making Mexican food tonight. Yep, that definitely helps...

These Nights

Monsoon at night.

Red-Letter Day

Today's shenanigans represented a small victory for me. D woke up this morning with a raging sore throat and informed me that it had been going on for "at least a week." Thank you, D, for not telling me sooner--while you prepared food for the kids...We're working on the whole germs-can-be-spread-from-one-person-to-another thing.

Anyway, I knew that I was going to be the one to take her to see a doctor and I was a little nervous. But I sensed from the get-go that the Lord was going to show me how He is always enough for me and whatever fills my day. So, I went downstairs to ask my landlady for a good doctor referral. And after not speaking Hindi for 5 weeks, I spoke without a hitch and understood her perfectly! Ok, almost.

Then I went back upstairs, collected D and my wits, and we walked for thirty minutes down the main road in our town to a nearby village where the doctor's office is. I managed to find the place (and this was the real miracle, as those of you who know me well understand) in the pouring rain, and then I used understandable Hindi to figure out where exactly the doctor's office was located. I had to ask because it was above a pharmacy on a narrow, densely-packed side street.

Then I signed D in (by the seat of my pants because the 'receptionist' guy spoke the fastest, mushiest Hindi I've heard in awhile), paid two dollars, and we saw the doctor. D wanted me to speak for her because I'm not sure she's ever been to the doctor before in her life. So I spoke more Hindi, answered questions, got a diagnosis and a prescription, and we left.

I stopped by a little shop to buy some sour cream and onion chips so that I could get change for the bicycle rickshaw we planned to take back home. No more 30-minute walk uphill in the rain for these girls. We hailed a rickshaw, got back to our apartment, and when I stopped to pay the driver he did not try to cheat me because I'm white.

It was a red-letter day.

Rich and Beautiful

Does this look particularly American to you? Maybe I'm beginning to lose perspective...

New Normal

She's baaaaack. D joined our family again on Tuesday and we have all sighed a big breath of relief. She has cooked Indian food for us for the first time in six weeks. We hadn't had rice since our return to India and the kids didn't really know what to think. But last night we had yellow daal and rice, saag, and mangoes. Delicious.

We continue to find a new normal

Recently Seen

Monsoon has arrived. It rains nearly every day, bringing cool temperatures and mist.

Why hello there, Mr. Man-on-the-roof. (I think we interrupted laundry day).

Love and Burning Plastic

Ah, the mountains. Today it was 69 degrees at one point and we had all our windows open. The breeze streamed in from across the lake, made purer by the trees dotting the sides of the hills. Our little apartment was getting an oxygen bath and we loved it.

Until...I asked our oldest son to go look out and see if a candle had burned down too far, or the stove was on or something. Because suddenly all I could smell and taste was smoke. He ran back into the room where I was sorting old toys to give away and shouted, "Mom! The living room is smokey. Really smokey." And boy howdy was it ever.

What happened you ask? Oh, nothing really. Our neighbors were just burning trash on our roof--plastic trash--and the smoke was pouring into every open window in our apartment. The acrid fog of melted plastic left an oily soot over everything inside. We had to wash all of our clean dishes again, mop the floor, strip the sheets off the bed. We blew our noses and cleaned our ears and--you guessed it--black soot everywhere. We all took showers because even our fingernails were dirty.

And you know, our landlady came rushing up, apologizing profusely all the while. It was her fault somehow (we couldn't understand exactly how she figured in) and she was watching us intently to read our reaction to the havoc wreaked on our home. Somehow God allowed us to look at her with soot-lined eyes and say, "It is a small thing. These things happen. It's ok." I don't know how we managed to not kill someone, but it was a moment in time where we did and said the right thing in a tight spot. I'm documenting it here for proof, y'all.

Friends

We had a sweet reunion with our dear friends, J and M, today. They are such a breath of fresh air and we love their company. Our kids played and played with their kids while we grown-ups talked about the past, the present, and most importantly these days, the future. Today was a good day.

D

The only thing that hasn't been good about our return to India is that D is in another city filling out some paperwork so that she can study further from home. This means that we've eaten all the snacks we'd packed from the States already. We've eaten a lot of eggs and peanut butter and toast. We thought she was going to be gone for a week and I was starting to feel a little, er, unsure. But then we called her today and she said she'd be returning on Tuesday. Ok, then. That's more like it.

Back to the Blogosphere

Today we were amazingly productive around the apartment. Maybe that's because we got 12 hours of sleep. Or maybe it was a flukish thing I can't expect to repeat. Or maybe the Lord helped us. Anyway, we organized, threw away, mopped up, swept, washed, and did not stop until our landlords put pressure on us to come downstairs and talk with everyone in the building.

So we did that. It went well, we answered their burning questions, gave them presents, ate some curious (read: sickly sweet) desserts, and then staggered back upstairs. We are now about to give our smelly kids a shower--postponing bed as long as we can--and then crash. My stomach hurts. But our apartment looks awesome.

Here Again

We are back in India. I won't try to describe our time in the States. I'll only say that, after it was over and done, we realized we had to have it. I can't over-emphasize how necessary it was. At the moment we're left with a sweet taste in our mouths and the renewed knowledge that we are loved and that there's a place for us.

At the very same time we are jet-lagged, winded and quietly pleased to be back in our apartment. The kids love this place. J and I, while we don't love it, appreciate our second home and are thankful for the opportunity to rest and then establish some routine again.

More when I wake up...