communion.

communion.
Originally uploaded by Luna Soledad

Once upon a time as a young military wife stationed abroad, I had the extraordinary experience of discovering family in a wonderfully diverse array of people brought together by the shared commonalities... Distance from our families of origin, the uniqueness of military culture, and the desire to enjoy life with people we love.

Some of the best times of my life, some of my most sacred memories, were born in Germany. And some of the best friends in my life, made.

I recall Thanksgivings gathered 'round my giant table filled with flowers and delicious food cooked with love by Germans, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Croatians. Soldiers, civilians, children, my gay hairdresser and his boyfriend.

I remember Christmases gathering at Elvia's house spending hours making tamales with friends... Pot loads! We talked and laughed, spooned & folded. The taste of that first batch freshly steamed was something straight out of Mexican heaven.

New Years, celebrating with Martin and Evelyn on the old bridge in Kitzingen, drinking champagne and dodging firecrackers, and calling our parents and friends back home, six hours ahead, to wish them good tidings.

German street fests and church basement parties. Hispanic heritage functions on base and touring the Würzburger Hofbrau Brewery with USA DENTAC on the taxpayer's dime.

I remember Isabel's first birthday party... our flat was filled to capacity with people from around the world, every shade of the human spectrum, a symphony of languages... Everyone eating, drinking, and being merry simply because a little girl's birthday was a fine excuse to come together just be happy.

Indeed, some of the best times of my life.

This past week, Elvia's daughter Nicki graduated from high school. I drove up to Virginia. Another friend, once a single soldier in Germany many a year ago, drove out from Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Another couple, also from our Germany days, drove down from New Jersey. And still others, from Washington, DC. A few fellow graduates came over after graduation... The house was filled with people, each from distinctly different lives, backgrounds, cultures, ages, races, and professions -- rich with love and laughter.

I had not seen some of these dear people in nearly 12 years.

Two folding tables were erected in the living room for a celebratory spaghetti dinner and a good time was had by all... making memories.

And for a moment, I felt like I was home again...
But home, after all, is where the heart is.

"Home is a place not only of strong affections, but of entire unreserve; it is life's undress rehearsal, its backroom, its dressing room."

...Harriet Beecher Stowe

the graduate.

the graduate., originally uploaded by Luna Soledad.

She did it! W00t!

Twenty years ago, I walked across the stage. Seems like a lifetime ago and I suppose it was. Two decades. Wow.

I can still recall the excitement of school being over, really over, and feeling as though I was finally an "adult" and the world was wide open...

Of course, we could barely stand for obligatory photographs what with the beach waiting and all. My best friend Karen and I climbed into my old 1980 CJ-7 Renegade with it's custom paint job and 35" tires and stole away into the night like giddy thieves barreling down the highway with the doors off, tossing our pantyhose out the windows. --The beginning of the rest of our lives.

This is yours Nicki and the world awaits brimming over with promise and dreams... Take advantage of every single moment; it will vanish in a blink.

I have no doubt that you will make your mark and the world will be all the better for having you. It's what you're made of.

I'm so proud of you! And I love you!

"The man who graduates today and stops learning tomorrow is uneducated the day after."

...Newton D. Baker

hope.

Originally uploaded by Luna Soledad

10:38 a.m. Just a few moments ago, my morning was interrupted by a couple of young fellows knocking on my door. The spokesman of the two introduced themselves as being from a Christian ministry something-or-other and said that with all the bad things happening in the world today, that they wanted to know if I believed that there was hope for the future? I kindly told them that they probably didn't want to hear my thoughts on the world situation. Well then, do you mind if I share with you some thoughts from the Bible? Actually, I do mind. They thanked me, wished me a good day, and left.

As is most often the case, I thought of just what I should have said after the fact:

"Hope for the future of the world rests upon the ability of humanity to learn tolerance, respectful understanding, and compassion towards the beliefs, cultures, challenges, pain and suffering in the lives of others..."

"Man partly is and wholly hopes to be."

...Robert Browning

my lil' graduate.

my lil' graduate.
Originally uploaded by Luna Soledad

This past week, my sweet, special baby girl "graduated" to 6th grade and (*gasp*) to middle school.

As much as the thought horrifies me - the big change, middle school with big and often cruel kids, leaving behind the special and wonderful teachers and friends who have been my daughter's everything for the past several years - I was immensely proud. Isabel has come so much farther than anyone every imagined or predicted and yet, the road is yet long.

And yes, I cried.
I cried because it has been such a long and challenging journey both as her mother and her biggest advocate. Because, while other moms and dads celebrate this same milestone and save for their child's college education, dreaming of the accomplished individuals they hope them to become - our future is so uncertain. And I cried for a hundred other reasons and because it was the only thing to do and I just couldn't help myself.

I was so proud of each and every one of "our kids" - the ones who were moving on, and the ones who were staying behind... Throughout the long-winded assembly of speeches and presentations and sideshows, Bella and her classmates were incredibly patient (an uncommon attribute for our kids). And they each took to the stage like true achievers, smiling and pleased. One fellow graduate from Bell's class even snagged the microphone from his teacher and addressed the audience with a cheerful and moving, "Hey!" A most excellent speech in my humble opinion.

Afterward, we all adjourned to the classroom for a "cook in" and enjoyed one last social with our friends. Superlatives were awarded (none to our surprise, Isabel got "most energetic").

It was bittersweet.

In parting, I left everyone with Thank You notes from Isabel with a picture of her happy, smiling face and enclosed all that I could conjure: my words...

Dear Teachers, Friends, Mentors…

I so wish I had gifts to give to everyone, a token of thanks and remembrance, for all that you have given, contributed, and shared in my daughter’s life these last few years. But then there is nothing I could possibly give to each of you that would adequately express my gratitude for the love and care you have shown Isabel.

You have each played a magnificent and unique role in the world of a special little girl – an ever mischievous, often stubborn, frequently happy, and most always content little person whose quality of life is defined in the moment by her surroundings. –You have shared her life as her friends, companions, role models, and teachers, celebrating her accomplishments and victories, however small, with patience and acceptance. You have laughed together and played together; grown and learned together… You have supported and protected one another. Not merely because it is your job or because you are a fellow student; it is who you are individually.

I cannot begin to tell you, even from a distance, what you mean to me simply because you have each been someone important, someone special to Isabel. You have been Isabel’s world. And for that, I cannot begin to thank you enough.

proud & busy day.

proud., originally uploaded by Luna Soledad.

Saturdays are for errands, grocery shopping, and catching up on laundry. Whew. Just thinking about it all in the morning while sipping my coffee makes me tired. Today was no exception.

It started out with wrangling with the wild things and "Dan, Dan, the Painter Man" showing up at 10 am. As it was impossible to keep the children away from the paint and out from underfoot of our painter, we gave up and decided to start our day.

First stop: Lowes.
We dropped some serious home improvement coin and miraculously managed to get out of the store without beating the defiant and obnoxious kids half to death.

En route to feed everyone, we stopped by a local Taekwondo academy that just opened up near to one of our favorite eating spots to see how our rambunctious three year old would react to some real martial arts which he has been emulating from television.

We watched as Master Kim and Grand Master Jun (a two time world champion) taught our little son to kick into the air and punch a bag, to yell out "yaaaa!" and even to break his very own little board, pictured here. He could not have been happier or more pleased with himself. And I watched with my heart bursting with pride as he bowed to his teachers. Sold!

So I guess we're signing him up. =)

Next stop: lunch at the North Ridge Pub.
By the time we finished lunch, we (at least Kevin and I) were exhausted and our patience dwindling. Groceries would have to wait, so home we went...

Where, just hours after our darling little boy had exhibited such skill and made his parents so proud with his good listening and excellent behavior... he spray-painted his sister a high-gloss black.

Never a dull moment.

"No matter how calmly you try to referee, parenting will eventually produce bizarre behavior, and I'm not talking about the kids. Their behavior is always normal."

...Bill Cosby

swings & doodlebugs.

swinging., originally uploaded by Luna Soledad.

Despite having been overcome with the plague this past weekend and the "good car" breaking down, we four did manage to slip away Saturday for a cookout with dear friends, Nikita and Wes, in High Point, NC.

The home is nestled on acres and acres of what was once an active dairy farm. The massive lushly green lawn is filled with wonderful big old Oak and Magnolia trees (in full bloom). One such grand tree held from its high bough "the world's greatest tree swing," as Wes puts it. Indeed, such a simple pleasure and it was magnificent. --We all took turns.

We had a great meal with great friends beneath large covered patio overgrown with ivy and various fragrant vines. The kids ran and played and wandered about... Liam discovered "echoes" which provided endless entertainment. Isabel explored the expanse of the great outdoors freely much to her delight. We explored the old dairy barn and played on antique tractors.

And I taught Liam the age old secret of "Doodle Bug calling"...

"Doodlebug, Doodlebug
Come out, come out
Your house is on fire..."

Then as I gently swished the straw around in the Antlion's lair, he suddenly appeared like magic.

"Why?" Liam wanted to know.
"Well, because we tricked him and told him his house was on fire."
"Why?"
"To make him come out so we could see him."
"Oh..." and then back to the tractor he ran...

"Children are curious and are risk takers. They have lots of courage. They venture out into a world that is immense and dangerous. A child initially trusts life and the processes of life."

...John Bradshaw

Gma & me.

Gma & me.
Originally uploaded by Luna Soledad

I miss my Grandma. Immensely. Terribly. I ache with missing her...

These days, if you're lucky, on a good day, you may still catch a glimpse of the truly remarkable and amazing woman that is my Grandma.

She turned 83 this year. Health problems are nothing new for the woman I once believed indestructible, however it is the absence from clarity of mind that is the most difficult to accept, at least for me.

Growing up next door, Grandma was my best friend. With an eighth grade education, she was still the strongest, wisest woman I knew. We gardened together, we planted, weeded, and harvested vegetables, fruits, and flowers. We shucked corn, shelled peas, and snapped beans. We fished together with cane poles and many a day would just cop-a-squat in the hot summer sun, bust open a watermelon and eat it right there in the middle of the dirt farm path with our hands.

I often spent the night at her house and went to bed wearing one of her lacy nylon or flannel gowns, smelling of Avon products. Right up into my teens, she would sing to me when I asked, a song she had learned as a girl, "Topsy Turvy Town" and I would drift off in utter bliss snuggled deep beneath layers of handmade quilts as Grandma lay beside me mumbling in her sleep.

Last week, we had a good visit. I took her fresh strawberries which she loves. She asked me several times where I got them and each time I told her the grocery store. Then she would offer them to me. Grandma, true to her nature, was never satisfied unless she shared what meager things she had and fed people.

She told me before I left that I should come stay with her when she got home. I told her I'd like that very much.

How I wish I could go back again, be that sun-kissed, long-legged blond little girl who went fishing with Grandma and went to bed smelling of Avon.

"And so our mothers and grandmothers have, more often than not anonymously, handed on the creative spark, the seed of the flower they themselves never hoped to see: or like a sealed letter they could not plainly read."

...Alice Walker, In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens (p. 240)