reede, aprill 22, 2005
Peter is Getting Better!
Well, it looks like Peter is really getting better now. It's always so hard when your child is sick and you feel like all you can do is watch and comfort him. He slept a bit more last night, but Evelyn and I had difficulties sleeping, and around the time we did finally doze off, he woke up! He was up again until around 5:15, and he and I just played together until he was ready for sleep. We'll get him on a regular schedule soon, then we will all finally be able to sleep and I won't feel like my head is full of fog!
I was thinking today about the hotel where we stayed while we were in Maine. They served breakfast for the guests each morning (which was such a treat!) and the woman who prepared the food, Svetlana, was from Ukraine, which borders Moldova. We had great conversations with her and felt a real kinship with her. We felt kind of like refugees and aliens there, and she understood. Every morning Elizabeth would say good morning to her in Russian; often she would speak to Peter, who pretended he was shy; and hearing her accent, although not Estonian, gave a nice reminder that we would be going home again. On our last day, she even had gifts for us, which is typical in her culture but not so often seen in America. It was good to have a reminder of home even in that difficult time.
Now that we are back, it feels almost as if we never left. I've had to use my Estonian a few times and in the moment, even though I do tend to panic with language, I was able to make myself understood. They say that home is where the heart is, and I am finding new depth to that old saying.
--Tim
I was thinking today about the hotel where we stayed while we were in Maine. They served breakfast for the guests each morning (which was such a treat!) and the woman who prepared the food, Svetlana, was from Ukraine, which borders Moldova. We had great conversations with her and felt a real kinship with her. We felt kind of like refugees and aliens there, and she understood. Every morning Elizabeth would say good morning to her in Russian; often she would speak to Peter, who pretended he was shy; and hearing her accent, although not Estonian, gave a nice reminder that we would be going home again. On our last day, she even had gifts for us, which is typical in her culture but not so often seen in America. It was good to have a reminder of home even in that difficult time.
Now that we are back, it feels almost as if we never left. I've had to use my Estonian a few times and in the moment, even though I do tend to panic with language, I was able to make myself understood. They say that home is where the heart is, and I am finding new depth to that old saying.
--Tim
