Well its been a while since I've gotten to write. But I got Stella and Monica and my sister and parents all bundled up and ready for a walk, then gave them the slip at the door. So now Eric and I are here on the red couch in Westport, sipping orange mandarin spice tea by the fire and tree... and its a really nice thing. Not "nice" that the group is gone, not at all. But to have a little down time, a little time to reflect...as I always like to do this time of year.
I can't believe how much our Littles have grown since last Christmas. They are wearing the same dresses they wore last year- for comparison. I'll see if I can get a shot of them together- a very difficult feat nowadays.
Now, what they are up to... climbing and moving and running and chasing and exploring. Mastering the stairs, climbing up into their high chairs, wrestling over toys (always wanting the one the other has, even if they have the *exact* same toy). They love riding on our shoulders "Ride? Ride?" and learning new words. Tree!! Tweet Tweet! Burr! (bird)! Kash-sha-sha (our dog). Boppa is both Grandma and Grampa. They love their aunt Amy, and talk about her all week until they get to see her. Amy! Amy! And... whenever we talk about their grandparents and aunts, they inevitably ask "Wor-wee"? (Rory, my folks' dog). They love playing with buckles and anything that has a cap, especially markers.
Stella now has the cutest little chuckle- literally the comic strip "Heh-heh". And when asking her if she wants something that she does indeed want, like "Do you want some food?" She says "OK!". When she has done something she is proud of or knows will make us happy, she squeaks until we notice. Like putting her hat on herself, or climbing up and sitting like a Big Girl in a grown-up's chair.
Monica is in constant motion when she is awake. If she wants something she sas "Peez!! PEEEEZ!!!" Her grandmother is teaching her how to put on her coat by putting it open on the ground, facing away, putting her hands in the sleeves and flipping it over her head. She wants to do it over and over, or... "agin! Agin!!" (again again!).
They have this communication that we don't quite understand, although we have heard it happens among twins... words that make sense to each other, but not to us. They say "Ah-NO! Ah-NO!". Maybe it means "I want the toy you're playing with" or "don't you wish you had this toy".
Eric and I are doing pretty well too. We love our community in Providence; somehow we found this incredible group of people to grow our kids with and grow into our thirties and almost forties with. We're part of a collaborative that busy raw milk from Connecticut and citrus from an organic farm in Florida- it feels good to walk our talk a little bit that way. I also have a women's circle of 7 that meets monthly to talk about life and push each other to live it more fully. We are all mothers, professionals, wives, friends, daughters, sisters, nieces, athletes, dreamers... and its amazing to have the space to talk about the challenges and blessings of all these roles.
I decided *not* to take a fulltime job at Brown, where I would've been the Associate Director of Research Innovations for the Office of the Vice President of Research. It would've been a big job; knitting together research collaborations across university departments and centers on topics in energy/environmental issues and population health. Hard to turn it down, really really. But also really wonderful to choose to spend more time with Stella and Monica. So a difficult decision, but luckily one that was really right and felt right as soon as I'd made it. Now I'm trying to make part-time work as a strategy consultant for non-profits and academic institutions; I've had 2 contracts so far and one more is in the works through AICU (Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of RI- the lobbying group for RI's private institutes of higher ed such as Brown and RISD). Its been neat- I'm thinking about developing more capacity for higher ed administration- maybe one day I'll be a dean of students? I've loved all my work with college students- especially this past summer when I had a crackerjack team of three Brown undergrads working on a fellowship I directed on social entrepreneurship. I miss seeing those amazing young-uns.
Eric is making great leaps and bounds in his professional career as well; publishing papers, teaching and writing grants. Although the current national public health funding situation is not very generous, his grants score well. He plays the academic game well, and is gaining the respect of his colleagues (not to mention his wife). I think his bigger accomplishments this year have to do with his practice of "applied buddhism"; which refers to being mindful of your own behavior and thoughts- it is witness consciousness of your life and how you behave within it. Its why he's such a peaceful, loving and careful dude. He was given a big honor this year; he was asked to be ordained in the tradition of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, and went to Blue Cliffs Monastery in New York (the Catskills) to be ordained by Thich Nhat Hanh himself. It means that he is committing himself to teaching others about mindfulness, and building a stronger community. As such, we have both been helping build a family sangha (sangha is a practice community) in Rhode Island. With our teacher and mentor, Joanne Friday, we are both learning a ton and feeling good about sharing this opportunity for personal "freedom" to our community. We hope it will become a community that Stella and Monica enjoy too- imagine having the tools of mindfulness as a little kid! We'll see how that goes.
I personally hope that my own practice of applied buddhism--mindfulness--will make me a better mother... here's to hoping.
Well, its time to go and make some fuffy (muffins). I hope everyone who reads this is doing well- we do miss those who we don't get to see in our little state of Rhode Island.
xoxo
Betsy
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