happy 2014

Daniel's mom and sister traveled from Chicago to visit the family a week ago. We drove south to Jerusalem and observed the crossing over from 2013 to 2014 there in an 800-year-old abode that was built shortly after the Crusaders left and is now a hostel, which I always accidentally type as "brothel" before I remember the two words signify establishments of completely different natures.

Like sleeping in a grotto

The visit to Jerusalem left me more confused than ever about religion and the role of faith, devotion, etc. All I can say with great conviction on the topic of this ancient, greatly contested-over city is: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Amen. My two favorite places to visit are still the Garden Tomb and Hezekial's Tunnel. I'd forgotten how painful the tunnel is to walk through via barefoot, and Daniel's mom jokingly said, mid-plod, "You owe me one, Amy!" Make that half-jokingly.

I felt really bad about the way the stairs bit deeply into her soles on the way in and out of the tunnel. Thankfully, it was all sensory pain and no physical damage. Daniel and I wore Declan and Petra respectively in their own Ergo carriers (The "Desert Bloom" Ergo organic I recently bought secondhand from another mother via the "Babywearing Israel" facebook group came in the mail a few days before our trip--yay!); Declan was initially frightened by the rushing spring at the beginning of the tunnel and cried to be let out, then settled quietly to looking around like during the aqueducts tour in Naples. Petra swiftly fell asleep for the entire duration of our time underground. (Her go-to coping mechanism?)

My thoughtful husband later bought two "I survived Hezekial's Tunnel" tshirts for his mom and sister. I hope they'll wear them often and always laugh a little when they're putting on the shirts.

One downside in staying at a place that is over 800 years old is that it's not exactly well-ventilated or well-heated. Now everybody is sick and coughing and Petra is back to newborn intensity in terms of need for attention and care.

Sigh. I guess it's a good thing to remember lest I start to forget how miserable being pregnant always was for me and becoming open to having child #3.