Wonderful

The biggest argument that Satvinder and I have had to date was about time travel, of all things. I don't know why we both got so worked up but one day she was asking me about how two time realities were overlapping in one of the Harry Potter books and I was trying to explain it, which is a hard thing to do. Trying to understand time travel can make your mind loop around on itself so that you almost forget what your question was in the first place. It wasn't making sense to her and she got increasingly frustrated and argued with me. Eventually we were both trying to yell our points over the other one and then, at the peak of her frustration, she hit me, running off to her room, crying and slamming her door.

We took a breather and both realized that we'd gotten kind of out of control. We talked and laughed about it. And later that day, Mangala Sadhu Sangeet sat down with Satvinder and tried to explain it using some pictures to illustrate. This is the picture he drew. Looking at this picture always makes me smile. Time travel, illustrated!

Yesterday I took this picture of the girls with the table and chairs I recently finished painting. I don't know how well you can see the eyelashes on the owl - but that was Satvinder's one request...that the owl have eyelashes.

Right before we took that picture, we were getting ready for our friend, Maria's, birthday party. Sukhjot was fussing and Satvinder told her, "Sukhi, calm down! We are about to go to a party and you are supposed to smile at parties."

The party was sweet with nice people and coziness and laughter. And then a fabulous monsoon storm swept through. The wind was crazy and the rain poured down. There was even hail. It blew over quickly and left a huge rainbow in the sky.

Rain in Phoenix is such a celebration. It breaks the oppressive heat and everyone breathes a sigh of relief. As we drove home, people of all ages were out enjoying the air. We rolled down the windows and I drove through every huge puddle I could find, splashing Satvinder who was hanging out the window yelling, "This is wonderful!"

And it was.

Talking to Me and Talking to You

My first article for Yogamint.com was published this week: Running on Full: Mama Needs Some Nurturing.

This is something I'm continually working to balance in my life. My friend, Nirmal, laughed when I wrote this article. She said, "It's funny how you write to yourself!"

This article got a nice shout out on another website that was created especially to inspire mothers to take care of themselves: ThePranaMama.com. What a sweet surprise. I get a lot from the process of writing but it is such a gift to hear someone read and found value in something that I wrote.

And wise friends, if you feel called to share on what ways you have found to cover your own bases in the midst of a busy life (motherhood or otherwise), I'd love to read your comments.

Job Hunt, Gravity, and Slow Motion Opera

We are officially putting out the word: Mangala Sadhu Sangeet Singh is looking for a job. He's a computer programmer with 11 years experience in software development and a degree in computer science. He's looking in Phoenix for now but we are grateful for any leads (in Phoenix or elsewhere.) Telecommuting is fine too. We also appreciate prayers. Thanks!

Sukhjot has discovered gravity. She is in the dropping phase. If it is in her hand then it will be dropped. And then the trained monkeys (aka parents) are supposed to pick it up.

Pulling books off bookshelves is another fun game that provides opportunity to drop stuff. Sometimes shelf destruction is a fine trade for allowing me to get a few minutes of writing done. :)

As for Satvinder, you can see for yourself. Here's a little video called Satvinder Performs 'Slow Motion Opera'

The Second First Day

 

Satvinder ready to go this morning

The teacher gave her a this bag with instructions to place inside three items that she could share with the class as a way of introducing herself and telling about her life. Satvinder included:

• A Panda - "Because it shows how I feel about animals"
• A Scarf (doll size) - "Because I am a girl and I like to be stylish"
• A Picture of Sukhjot - "To show I have a little sister that is cute"

Lesson 67,871 on Intuition

Life has been feeding me little bread crumb bits of intuition and had I not been discounting those morsels, I would not have been surprised by the last 24 hours. The crumbs had been steadily coming but yesterday was a feast and then an enormous bite got shoved down my throat. So I couldn't ignore that one.

Pretty much as soon as Satvinder got started at her new school, I knew we weren't going to be there long. It didn't make sense to think that and even though a nagging voice kept telling me, I didn't quite believe it. But I found myself wondering why I didn't try to sort things out with her old school. I didn't even try because I assumed Satvinder wouldn't want to go back and I assumed they wouldn't want us back since we'd pulled her out last year. We left on fine terms but I still had these assumptions.

I also had opinions about what I didn't like about school. And it turns out, those things aren't actually better at any other school. They are just inherently part of the school situation. Every place has its strengths and its compromises. And I now am better able to recognize the strengths, I think. Various events have given me some new perspective and I quietly wished we could go back to the old school. But since I was stuck in my assumptions and wasn't even pursuing it as an option, the only way that was going to happen was if someone from that school called me up out of the blue and offered Satvinder a spot, completely unsolicited.

And that's exactly what happened last night. I had told no one that I wished for this. I had not contacted the school, not spoken of it, and continually pushed it from my head. Then the call came (from someone who was actually listening to her intuition that prompted her to reach out to us) and I took Satvinder over to see the new campus she'd be at if she went back (1st grade starts at an Elementary campus.) And she said, emphatically, that was where she wanted to go.

So today, despite my insistence that we would not be leaving the new school soon, I filled out the form and withdrew her and got her all set up to start at the other school. It has been a learning experience and this has been and interesting twist! But I guess you don't know until you know.

And tomorrow: second first day of the school year!

Fascinating Writing Update that I'm Sure You've Been Anxiously Awaiting!

How do people do this? I'm 20,000 words into my first (crappy) draft of my first attempt at teen (young adult) fiction. Well, it's my first attempt since I was a teen myself. I was all about writing teen fiction when I was actually a teen. It was mostly depressing stuff about suicides and unwanted pregnancy and bad acid trips. But now, for some reason, I've decided that this is the thing to do. (I've moved on to some different topics, luckily.) And 20,000 words may not seem like a lot but for me, in the limited spaces I have to write, it is a A LOT.

Every day I write on this story. I write while Sukhjot naps or in five minute chunks when she is occupied with licking a door or something or when I'm half asleep after finally getting the two small people wrestled into bed. Sometimes I write one handed while holding the baby. Like now. She's climbing on me and the one arm is trying to keep her from nose diving onto the floor and Wow, that took forever to type one-handed.

I'm finding that I really love my characters and I look forward to sitting with them, seeing what will happen next for them, watching them grow. They are nice girls. They both have issues (imagine that) and I really care about them. I'm grateful for that.

But my house is a mess. And last week our kitchen got so bare that we were pretty much down to celery and kombucha (I've started making Kombucha!) neither of which the six year old would agree to consume. (Neither would her father, for that matter. Not that I blame them. I mean, who wants to eat celery? Why did I even have celery?)

It seems like a lot of writers go to coffee shops to write. And they write hours and hours every day. Oh, and also they (eventually) write stuff that isn't crap. Our family once cleared an entire coffee shop of laptoppers. One by one they filed out because Sukhjot was shrieking with such intensely loud delight that I guess they couldn't focus. Like now. I think my ear drums are bleeding. But she's happy!

Me - I write whatever I can, whenever I can. I'm not sure when I'll get to the coffee shop or the stuff that isn't crap. Stay tuned!

Satvinder and Sukhi

Satvinder seemed to do well with her first week at her new school. She had some ups and downs but didn't get hung up on anything. That's a real sign of progression for her - to be able to eventually let go and move on after something upsets her. She might even start riding the bus this week. I suspect I'll need more hand holding than she will.

Recently Satvinder has started calling the baby "Sukhi" (pronounced like "sooki") - as in "Sukhi, stop pulling my hair!" or "Sukhi just said 'buh buh.' Can we look that up on Google to find out what it means?"

Another nickname she came up with is "Cutie Lord Sukhjot," which is a special favorite or mine. There is a Fire Lord on the Avatar cartoon series so it makes sense that she would come up with this name to describe her sister's incredible powers of cuteness.

Another funny thing: If you've seen the movie 300 or any trailers from it, I'm sure you'll remember the This is Sparta scene. (If not, just click that handy little link there.) Satvinder has never seen it, of course. (Not a movie for kids!) But she sometimes says in very good imitation of that line, "This is BABY TOWN!" when Sukhjot is crawling around. It is hilarious.

And Satvinder still likes to put stuff on her sister's head. This time is was a string. Satvinder put the string on her head and squealed, "Ohhhh! Look how cute she looks!"

It's a thumbs up!

Satvinder loved the school and the school thought she was a great fit. And we were really happy with all the information the staff gave us about their approach. She goes back tomorrow for her official first day and here we go...Satvinder in back in school.

Now off to buy school supplies...

School Considerations

So. School. That's something I've been seeking clarity on for a while now. You may remember we took Satvinder out of school last Spring and started loosely "home schooling." It was really good for her to be home, to be removed from a situation that was causing her a lot of suffering, and to just have some time to be. That decision was confirmed in many ways and I'm grateful we did it.

Since then, things have shifted and it seems like school would be a good option for her. I sought out various schools and the ones we were interested in all had wait lists. So I didn't expect school to be happening right away. I was thinking we'd probably be home schooling, at least for a while. One night last week I was really feeling like we needed some movement or indication and I asked/prayed for something to come.

The next day two schools called us with spots available. Today Satvinder is having a trial day at one of those. It is a way to see if everybody thinks it is a fit. It is a Montessori school, which she is experienced with from her previous 5 years of Montessori schooling. They have gardens and ducks and chickens and rabbits. Satvinder is especially excited by their large library. We'll see how it goes.

I dropped her off this morning and first of all, we were late (not much - but enough to get a frowny face from the admissions lady.) The school is right down town where there are lots of one way streets and it took me three tries to actually get to it. It is a big school - bigger than what we're used to anyway - and it felt a little daunting to leave her there, new and unknown. It was all I could do not to park outside the fence and watch the P.E. class Satvinder was in when I left.

Regardless of school, separation is something Satvinder and I are both struggling with. She is nearing 7 years of age, which is a shift in life, no matter what else is going on. It is a different relationship between child and parent and we are feeling that in so many ways. We both are having to let go of her days as a little kid and allow her to walk her path. That's not always easy.  But life is ever-changing and I guess it is time to make peace with that.

 

This is what Satvinder picked to wear to her trial day. She did leave the pirate patch at home - but I just found it really funny that she put it on.

My mom sent this dress for Sukhjot and wanted to know if it fits - so this is just to show it off.

One of Each

 

Post-nap, Sukhjot is fuzzy-headed and happy - worthy of documenting with this photo and also a Post Nap video.

Satvinder received a box of some of my childhood Barbie dolls from my mom this week which she has been excited about. Here she'd lined them up to watch the cartoon series Avatar with her (which is a pretty awesome series, by the way - lots of deep lessons in those little shows.)

8 Months

She gives wet, open-mouthed kisses and is as soft as soft can be.  At meals it is like having a comedian at the table - her grins and sounds and expressions keep us all laughing. She smiles more than any person I've ever known. Sukhjot crawls and walks (with assistance) and wiggles and explores and delights and amazes.  Every day.  All day.  When she sleeps, she looks like the sweetest sweet angel you could ever imagine.  But better.

Sukhjot is peace.  She is light. She is exactly as her name says.  And now she is 8 months old.