My new blog is syrasscribbles.com
Happy Birthday to Me
January 2006 Dear Ruth, Wish me a happy birthday! My twenties are way behind me now. I’m thirty-one years old. Last year I was a mother of two little girls and thought I had my life figured out. I even toyed with the idea of going back to work as an adjunct professor of mathematics at a local community college. Now that I have a baby boy and my mom has moved in with us life is challenging, and yet I feel more confident than ever. I look lovely in long skirts falling to my feet and colorful head scarves covering my hair. I stay at home with my three kids, and even though Basil is only two months old, I want another baby before we’re done. We rent a three bedroom house in the suburbs near sunny San Diego, California. I adore my husband who is a passionate hardware engineer working for a cutting edge startup company. My mom lives with me so I can take care of her and hug her every day. We go to church with my best friend Ryoko, my god-daughter Ryanna, and our wonderful church family. I’m so blessed. I have so much to be thankful for, and yet I’m easily frustrated. Now that Basil is sleeping through the night I want to clean the house better, but I can’t figure out how to work around his schedule. My mom doesn’t appreciate my attempts to keep her diabetes under control and sneaks chocolate and sweets whenever she can. She and Esther keep fighting over board games too. I’m hoping it’s a four-year-old phase that Esther will grow out of. Sophia is the sweetest two-year-old ever. She climbs on everything though, and I can’t enjoy potty training. I’ve been an Eastern Orthodox Christian for five years. Though I’m surrounded by icons and have all the help the Church provides, I still get caught up in the details of my life and forget God. I’m not sure if I forget God more when I’m having fun or when I’m aggravated. I want to be the Christian that God wants me to be. I long for joy and peace in all circumstances. As my New Year resolution, I will dedicate this year to being more thankful. My friend Sarah Elizabeth gave me a booklet with the Akathist of Thanksgiving: “Glory to God for All Things”. This lengthy hymn was written in 1934 by Metropolitan Tryphon during the communist persecution of Christians in Russia. There are so many reasons to be thankful that don’t depend on me. I too want to be thankful for all things. I’m getting philosophical in my old age, but I’m not that old. Am I? Although we just returned from our Christmas trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico to visit Mike’s folks, I didn’t have any adventures worth writing about. The more kids we have the harder it is to travel across the country, and the harder it is to visit everyone while giving equal time to both Mike’s parents. I wish we could move back to Albuquerque. Next month my mom has her nephrology appointment to find out more about her kidney failure. I also expect visits from my sisters Maya and Gretl who promised me they would come out during their kids’ spring breaks. Surely I’ll have something interesting to write about soon. Your correspondent from the front room, Syra |
Syra's Scribbles II Random Chapters:I'll be starting over with the chapters every so often. You'll have to buy the book to get to the happy ending. This material is published. To read more, buy the book!
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