Put On Your Dancing Heels

Taking Obi to the vet to get fixed

Obi continually howled and tried to climb out of the back of the car/van/can.

Obi did calm down... for about 5 minutes of the 90 minute journey.

Jovie liked the donkeys at the vet.

Donkeys are funny animals, hey?

Watching the ball drop while celebrating New Years at the Parks

Just cause we're in India doesn't mean we can't watch the ball drop!

3, 2, 1... Happy New Year!

I am watching Jayson right now clean off one of my cookbooks that got plagued by mold. Thank you India. I mean, it’s really my fault because I didn’t realize it got damp by the "monsoon season" and was getting moldier by the day, but sometimes it’s easier to blame India. Anyway, back to the cookbook, it’s yuck - all the way through. Every page. I discovered it on Christmas Eve, when we made ravioli. I’m not sure if it will be saved. And now, I will start the turmoil… Do I have to throw the whole cookbook away… or do I clip and save the non-moldy pages? Oh my, I can already hear you falling asleep. Quick, subject change.

So, I kind of had a huge sigh of relief today as I was putting all the Christmas decorations away. The holidays took a lot of energy. Not the party throwing, the food making or the present wrapping… but the tension of being so far away from home on our first Christmas in India. It was emotionally draining. Depending on what hour of the day it was, I was either a completely stable human being or I would be sucking my thumb and rocking in a corner - all internally of course. I thought a lot about Christmas as it led up to the day, probably too much. I was just so curious to see how I would feel. And basically I did not want to revisit those early days of us being here, so lonely and sad. And I don’t know, I still have a bit to process, but basically we have hurdled all the “firsts” of being here, holiday-wise. Next week is our one year anniversary and I am kind of glad that the hurdles are done. I am sure there will new ones, but as for all the very first holidays, I am glad they are behind me.

We did have a funny moment on Christmas that I hope to remember forever. So, we were acting out the nativity on Christmas Day and James was the innkeeper. (Side note to this story, James has a good friend at school who is from Australia.) So, Mary and Joseph came to the inn and James the Innkeeper said, “There’s no room at the inn, Mate.” Love it. I didn’t realize James would be learning “Australian” in India.

Retelling the story of baby Jesus.

Sound the trumpets. Put on your dancing heels. Call a babysitter because you will be out late! The party has come to town. Melissa, Jayson’s sister, came in last week. And it is so great to have her here. She’s like a breath of fresh air around here. And we all know that India’s air needs some freshening. I love laughing, chatting, resting, cooking, running and crafting with her. The kids love their Auntie Mel and are overjoyed that she is staying until January 21. What a gift.

Welcome Auntie Mel!

Last week, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, which is like a governor of a state, came to town. And oh my goodness, they can roll out the red carpet pretty well here. It kind of puts any sort of American political campaigning to shame. Kind of. Maybe it was just pretty impressive, sorta impressive, because well, there was hardly any build up. I didn’t have any time to prepare. I just drove into town one day… and bam! There it was. These monument type structures were all over town. Not quite sure what to make of it.

The red carpet...

Serious red carpet! (That thing isn't normally there. It was built in a day for the Chief Minister.)

I need to give a shout out to all of you who sent Christmas cards over. So great. We all loved opening and reading all the cards. They were treasured. Thank you.

Great news, we couldn’t get internet at our house during the month of December. Okay, that’s not great news… the great news is to come. And, I think it was New Years Eve Day, the phone rang, which was odd, because the phone lines being down was the problem. Anyway, the phone rang, which again was surprising, and I picked it up and at the other end a man said, “Are you speaking to me on your telephone?” It’s hard not to be a bit of a smart alek about that question, but I calmly said, “Yes”, and then he promptly hung up. And now, walah!, our internet is now up. Even the silliest of questions sometimes bring great results.