Sometimes there are no words … there are just moments.
Growing Up Savvy Posts
Reading And the Mountains Echoed
Listening to Van Morrison and The Kings of Leon
Wishing I could pause, savor and appreciate what I have more often
Admiring my garden and the plump little cherry and grape tomatoes that have finally ripened on it
Craving Indian food, stone fruits, and as usual, anything sweet
Cooking chicken curry in a hurry
Looking forward to the end of October and hopefully the tranquility that I’d like it to bring
Missing a special person in my life who left too suddenly
Musing about the change of the seasons and the symbolism that it represents about our own lives
Sometimes there are no words. Sometimes, the words don’t match the pictures and so this time, there are only pictures. For personal reasons, out of respect.
Sometimes you just have to take the plunge and embrace the challenge; that is exactly what we did this weekend when we tackled the girls on our own for the first time. It was challenging but quite manageable with a little big of creativity and planning. We even managed errands, park dates, a run to the mall and lots of play at home. But I think a post about how two adults, one of whom has a PhD, managed to take care of a toddler and an infant is rather boring. Lots of people have done this before us.
Sophia is turning three in October and we have finally embraced cartoons, Disney Princesses and fairytales. So far, Sophia has only seen Cinderella and on Saturday we showed her The Little Mermaid. I shouldn’t admit to this, but I have myself never seen the Little Mermaid or Cinderella (until I saw them both with Sophia). They didn’t show Disney cartoons in the USSR and I am not sure why I never saw it when I first came here… In any event, we made a movie afternoon out of the experience complete with home-made popcorn (not from a packet, either) and had the best time. Sophia loved the cartoon so much so that she asked to put on her princess skirt and necklaces and has been sporting both ever since.
I am not a fan of the princess stage per se; All the tiaras and pretend dress-up usually make me cringe, but there was something very darling about Sophia watching the cartoon, her emotions clearly on display.
Taking a break from my regular Moments series, I wanted to share some of this week’s culinary happenings at our house. I tried a new recipe for Chicken Marsala on my parents this past weekend while holding down the fort. It took just under an hour total of which only twenty minutes of involved active cooking. Of course there were plenty of leftovers for the week and so I paired that with a potato gratin … just to switch things up. Gratin is a pretty luxurious dish and for that reason, I have never made it before. It turned out as amazing as I imagined it to be and took all of ten minutes to assemble.
I couldn’t have planned this post better if I tried; Throwback thursday or #tbt has become quite popular and while I occasionally post a picture… I’ll post a post. My family emigrated to the United States of America on this day back in 1994. I was 11 and twenty years have elapsed since then. I think it is time for an introspection, a look back to remember where I am, where I came from, what has happened and who has been there along the way. I wrote a brief summary of The Move a while ago; It was the conclusion of a Traveling Back in Time series.
No man is an island and I cannot claim credit for where I am without acknowledging the people who have been there along the way. I’ll start with my aunt—my mother’s sister—and her husband who had to petition (the US government) for us to emigrate and agree to become our guarantors taking on complete financial responsibility for us upon our arrival. Those were the conditions the government set before granting us entrance visas. Thankfully, my parents were able to get on their feet within three months. Still, I look at my aunt’s decision now with admiration and a new perspective. Would I ever agree to do this for my sister? Yes. Without a doubt, without a second thought, without hesitation or discussion. And now that I have two little girls, I would hope they grow up in such a way that if ever in need, each would make the same decision to help the other. And so my aunt’s decision to help her sister has had a major impact on my life and how it has turned out.
My education is yet another place where my choices had a significant impact on my life; I didn’t sail through my college courses; I studied for hours every day of the week. There were several times when I didn’t think I could make it all the way. Maybe because I didn’t always feel that, as a woman, I belonged in engineering or maybe because it didn’t always come easily. Either way, there was a mentor at an internship that morphed into my long-term employer who supported and encouraged me. My gratitude to this individual is immense because I am not sure I’d have stuck with my major or my job. After seeing the impact of mentoring firsthand, I made a commitment to mentor younger engineers. It is an incredibly gratifying experience.
Last, but not least, I have had the encouragement and support of a great partner who was a friend at first, then a boyfriend, then a fiancee, a husband and now a father. The magic that Evan weaves is simple—he makes me want to be better, to grow and learn from my experiences.
Twenty years ago, I couldn’t have dreamed of a better outcome than this:
So thank you to those who have been there along the way.
Some firsts are very special. They form warm memories that we look back on as adults. Sophia had ice cream from the ice cream truck—a great first. And she shared it with her Baba and Deda.
Sophia woke up from her nap a little girl on a mission. She was determined to head to a local park and have some ice cream from a truck she saw the last time she was there. Since she didn’t ask for the impossible, we were glad to oblige and spent a lovely late afternoon at a local park and playground.
Distance does indeed make the heart grow fonder—even the littlest of hearts. This weekend marked the first one since Eliza’s birth that Evan was away from our home overnight. He had a great reason to be away too—his future brother-in-law’s bachelor weekend. As difficult as it was for Evan to get away, we felt it was important to support his sister and represent her family.
He drove eight hours to get there (Saratoga Springs) and drove back two days later.
Meanwhile, I held the fort down here with the help of my mother-in-law and my parents. I couldn’t have managed the girls on my own yet and feel very fortunate to have had the support that enabled Evan to get away for a guys’ weekend.
When he finally arrived here yesterday, he rushed past me and a feasting Eliza to play with Sophia and she was just so thrilled to see him again. She wanted to share all her weekend activities with her Papa and play just with him. I loved witnessing their reunion and how warm it was.
The picture is not my finest photography but the content is what really matters: Sophia in her chef’s hat cooking at her play kitchen with petite mittens.