Wordless Wednesday

Start Sanding

Dear Melese,
Mommy and Daddy are on their way, please don't worry. We love you very much. Meazi is okay, and we will all be together soon. Your teachers will take good care of you until we get there. We love you so very much.

I just had to write an earthquake kit letter for Melese. It is a letter for him to open if there is a big emergency WHILE HE IS AT SCHOOL. Did I mention that he is going to start school on the 6th?

This 'in case of earthquake' letter pretty much sums up how I feel about Melese going to school. I feel like I am leaving him in a room without power, the earth shaking, with strangers who are kind, but not his family.

I know, logically, that school will be wonderful for Melese. He is only going three morning a week. He has dear friends in his class, and he loves visiting there. It is a lovely little school that follows this nice philosophy. He needs to be around other kids. It is a good thing. I know all of this.

I am still having a little trouble with the idea. The problem with all of this attaching we have been doing for the last two years is that I AM REALLY ATTACHED TO HIM!

It will be a challenging transition for both of us. He still seems so young to me.

I just Googled 'How to Remove a Barnacle' and the first result said, 'Start sanding'.

It is only nine hours a week. This might be a good thing too, the nine hours to myself. I might actually have time to move the laundry from the washer to the dryer instead of finding the wet clothes several days later, and just rewashing them because they are a bit moldy smelling. I might even haul my flabby bleg (it's not leg, it's not butt...what is it?) to the YMCA. The possibilities are endless.

Still, in my mind he is cowering in a door frame, his pants wet because no one reminded him to use the potty, tears streaming down his face. He is clinging to a picture of Meazi, and this lame little earthquake letter I've written him.

I know, I know- I am the barnacle. Not him. He needs to remove me. I need to be sanded off.

It is just that it happened so fast. I miss him so much already.

Summer Sunday Sundae

Bold Beauty

Meazi told me she wanted to do something for my sister's wedding. I mentioned to her that folks sometime make speeches or toasts, and maybe she'd like to do something at the rehearsal dinner? She said, "I don't want to make a speech mom, I want to sing a song." I suggested, You are my Sunshine. She shook her head no, and told me she had a different idea. She picked a song, picked some lyrics for three verses, and rehearsed it a couple of times when we were at the lake the week before the wedding.

The day of the rehearsal dinner she told me she was going to tell Tarek and Kate about the song. I told her to keep it a secret and surprise them. During the dinner she said, "Mom, when should I do my song?" I had heard a rumor that the groom's friend William was going to speak. We told William that Meazi wanted the mic after he was finished speaking. I told Meazi that she might want to introduce herself, and to say who it was for.

She boldly marched up after William, grabbed the mic and said the following:

"It's Meazi. This is a song for Kate and Tarek. It is a song from my brother's music class, and it's called, There is a Little Wheel a Turning in my Heart."

Then she sang:
There's a little wheel a-turning in my heart
There's a little wheel a-turning in my heart
In my heart, in my heart
There's a little wheel a-turning in my heart

There's a little song a-singing in my heart
There's a little song a-singing in my heart
In my heart, in my heart
There's a little song a-singing in my heart

There's a little sun a-shining in my heart
There's a little sun a-shining in my heart
In my heart, in my heart
There's a little sun a-shining in my heart

As Melese said this morning, two weeks later, "After her song, the crowd went wild mommy!"

And they did. The crowd went wild. There were tears and applause.

It was beautiful.

I said, "Meazi, weren't you scared singing in front of room full of strangers?"

She said, "Mom, those weren't strangers. They were family."

And yes, that song is the first song Melese ever sang to me.

I believe my sister may have had an ugly cry.

Maybe Tarek too.

Good stuff.

Wordless Wednesday

Weights and Measures

Meazi and Melese wandered onto this old scale at a birthday party. Their bellies were full of cheeseburgers and cupcakes. Melese was on it by himself, and while watching him my mind flashed to that picture of a malnourished Ethiopian child in a feeding scale. Do you remember the picture I am talking about? I can't find it now, but it was a picture of a food distribution center where families went to get Plumpy Nut. They had to be a certain weight to get it. If you have been to Ethiopia, and you are now following what is happened in the Horn of Africa, it is impossible not to constantly see those hungry kids when looking at your own kids. They don't have to be on a scale to notice it.

What to do? I feel like anyone who reads this blog already cares about Ethiopia and supports organizations that they believe in. For those readers who may be looking for a way to help, here are some suggestions:

 Tesfa. I have basically walked into the boardroom of Tesfa, and pinned my heart onto their bulletin board. I believe that they are the organization that can help my Ethiopian family the most. The new school and library in M&m's village will change many, many, lives. While they are not directly doing famine relief,  they are educating future leaders and thinkers. Although our school in Kololo is fully funded, they still need funds to keep all of their current programs strong. Tesfa  Ethiopia Reads, and The Fregenet Foundation are my ideas, here are some of my wise friends' ideas:

Mudula water is a network of adoptive families, supporters and the non-profit organization Children's Home Society and Family Services. It's goal is to  develop a gravity water scheme for Mudula, a town or "kebele" of 10,000 people in Southern Ethiopia. A natural spring that pumps 5 liters per second sits in the mountains, 2000 feet about the kebele, waiting to be tapped. Mudula Water will harness that natural spring, and feed to the people below. The impact on the Mudula society and surrounding areas upon completion of the project will be quick and significant. Positive effects of the project will include sustainability, feasibility and community driven involvement within the society, leading to a stronger sense of local responsibility. Vital health and hygiene education, as well as technical training will also be provided to the community. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, this project will not only give people clean water, it will relieve the burden of women and children who spend hours every day, sometimes multiple times every day, fetching water.  They will have time to run small businesses, to do household chores, to tend to their farms and to get an education.

Mudula is located in the drought zone of East Africa and is in dire need of water. This project is crucial now more than ever. This is a grassroots fundraising effort and we are continuously looking for support.   We cannot do this without you. For more information please visit www.mudulawater.org or visit https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorreg/donorpledge.asp?ievent=469401&supID=331974821 to donate to our wonderful relay team, the Mudula Mamas, who are racing in the Janus Charity Challenge to raise money for our cause!   Together we can deliver potable water to over 10,000 people, keep girls in school, improve sanitation, and end the cycle of poverty.

Molly, who adopted a girl from Mudula, which in the Southwest region of Ethiopia, started a non-profit called Hope by Twelve . They have several projects their girlpods are raising money for, but one in particular is in dire need of help. The Mudula Water project is a gravity flow water system that will deliver clean water to the rural village of Mudula (Molly’s daughter’s home village and where her daughter’s family is still located) and surrounding villages.  With the current drought in the Horn of Africa, it is now more vital than ever that they quickly raise the money necessary to build the water project.What is a girlpod? A girlpod is girls helping girls. It’s a simple solution. But it has the power to change the world. And it’s easier than you might think.

If you are interested in getting involved with Hope by Twelve,  if you know any girls or boys that might be interested in helping raise funds with Hope by Twelve, or you and your kids want to start a girlpod (boys are welcome too!) in your area, email Molly at molly@hopebytwelve.org.

You can find them at:
Hopebytwelve.org
facebook.com/hopebytwelve 

Sarah Lensen has started, Ask5for5 :


I began pursuing a BIG dream two weeks ago. After deciding I could no longer avoid the news about the famine in the horn of Africa, I had that gut feeling that I couldn't sit this one out. I HAD to do something because I could. Something bigger than I could do alone. That's when #Ask5for5 was born.

Two of my children, Ashen and Bereket, were adopted and are from the region affected by the drought in Ethiopia. They would be two of the statistics if they still lived there. I see my son’s and daughter’s faces in the photos of those suffering in the refugee camps. It could have been him. It could have been her. The thought haunts me. And moms just like us are watching their children go hungry day after day. I can't imagine what it's like, but I have to –I have to be there to help them, because it could have been my children. These families have lost their livestock, their crops, food prices are inflated at the market if there any food there, and don’t have any more lifelines to tap into. Many are traveling hundreds of miles through parched land in hope of finding help. Many are dying along the way. It is estimated that 29,000 children have died in the last 90 days in the famine in Somalia alone.

But I KNOW we can do something about it. Instead of feeling overwhelmed and paralyzed, we can rally ourselves and our friends to respond! I set up a fundraiser through See Your Impact. 100% of your gift will go to the relief and development organization World Vision, where it will be combined with government grants to multiply up to 5 times in impact!
  It's so so simple; here's what you need to do:

1. Donate $5 or more on this page (http://seeyourimpact.org/members/ask5for5)
2. Send an email to your friends and ask them to join us.
3. Share Ask5for5 on Facebook and Twitter, and join our page to stay updated too! 
4.  

My dear friend Meghan is working with Doctors Without Borders again. Read this post. And donate HERE. She is also working on funding grain stations in Hadero. Leave a comment on her blog or mine if you'd like more information about that opportunity.

Please feel free to add your own ideas in the comments.

In the morning I will make Meazi and Melese their favorite breakfast, Trader Joe's whole wheat Farina. We'll add two cups of whole milk, and gobs and gobs of our home brewed honey. Meazi will say, "Mmmm, mom my belly feels sooooooo warm." Melese will spill his on his lap, and we will get him another bowl. Maybe we won't be thinking about their brothers and sisters at that exact moment...
maybe we will.

Wordless Wednesday

Up North

After six days at the lake, my father called me over last night and said, "Jules, I want you to know that we love these children as much as we love you guys. They are wonderful, and there is nothing we wouldn't do for them. We will love them forever."

Happy vacation ugly cry to me!

We are off! Again! Did I mention my baby sister is getting hitched?

Wordless Wednesday

Photo by the lovely and talented Tanya.

Two Years Ago

We met.

Gone Fishing

Headed here. I think they have dial up. Be back soon.

Wordless Wednesday

Sunshine

7:00 am this morning I hear, "MAMA!" I race into the bedroom, crawl into the bed and say, "Good Morning Melese. How did you sleep?"

He replies, "Good, Mama."

I say, "Did you dream?" He nods his head yes and I say, "What did you dream about Melese?"

He smiles big, taps my chest with his finger and squeals, "You Mama!"