what i love

That I got to enjoy 10 minutes of quiet reading with a cup of coffee at the Y today, peacefully content about the childcare and playtime that Declan was enjoying at the moment.  After having a kid, to have some time and space to oneself is as good as it gets. That might sound sad, but actually what could be better than appreciating life's simple pleasures such as sitting quietly by oneself for a time, without taking such a lovely thing for granted?

That my husband is a kind-hearted man who thought nothing of sacrificing his work-out today to hold and comfort some stranger's child because, for some reason, my husband was the only one in the room the child was willing to be with. Anybody else would set the child bawling, so Daniel stayed and took care of him for more than an hour until the child's mother arrived at the child care room to pick him up after her workout.

That my little family is going to Haifa, Israel, and before then, Taiwan for two months. I discovered last night that Haifa's Chinese name is 海法, which I really like. It literally means "the law of the sea." I know that Chinese names of foreign cities tend to be purely transliteration, with any name significance being purely coincidence. Still, I think it's cool.  I love the ocean, and am glad that Haifa is a major port city. I also checked out some videos of the Technion and its history in the past 100 years.  With its scientific significance to the Jewish people, who were banned from studying the sciences in Europe until post WWII, it occurs to me that the establishment and success of the Technion is a real monument to Israeli perseverance and determination, not to mention defiance against bigotry and intellectual genocide.  What an honor that, in researching for its math department, Daniel is playing a part in this school's endeavors.

That I got a shorter haircut today at Ten Pachi, a really nice haircut place that is super affordable. I love that my friend Christy knows all the best places in Seattle for fashionable and stylish things, but who's also very down-to-earth and frugal so that these best places are also economical to boot. And that Declan fell asleep on Daniel's shoulders while we were walking home, and aside from one brief nursing session, is currently sleeping by himself. *Scream of excitement* It's a big deal for me to be able to have some physical freedom. Booyah!

Upon recently hearing about a former college friend's upcoming wedding through the Facebook grapevine, I experienced a brief dose of nostalgia and recalled our last interactions at another friend's wedding.  Since then, we've definitely lost touch, and I never heard anything about her mission trip even though I sent her $500 via her organization to help with the trip expenses. She also didn't reply my wedding invitation until I emailed her for a response, and then I received a fairly curt "No, not coming" with nothing else (reason, apology, best wishes)... It was really strange, given that I used to run with her and she had visited in Oregon during one post-college summer.  It made me think about how everyone in that college group has pretty much paired off with each other and it's fortunate that I don't need to feel left out or anything. I've made a life of my own, which isn't so much made by me as is presented to me with many twists and turns by God.

It's just interesting how far we've come, all of us, from those days in which I was highly inexperienced at living well. What I love is that, as I continue to learn in living better -- more faithfully, more meaningfully -- my husband and my son are the compatriots who will journey with me, no matter what. And we won't drift apart.