Change has been the constant for us in the last month. We moved from our home of 11 years, Portland, OR to Austin, TX. This move is something we have wanted for years. The time for when our family was ready to make such a big change happened and all of a sudden the ball was rolling and we left our beloved home and friends and moved to Austin in three weeks!!! Yup. In one breath just like that. :)
I was nervous. Not about coordinating the move and making sure our stuff showed up in our apartment in Austin (as opposed to sitting in storage for the next few months) but about what this change would mean to Anjali. As Dhruv correctly pointed out, Anjali has had three homes already! Boy, despite everything and constant changes she's really hung in there. We have Janardhan's cousin and his family in town here in Austin so we stayed with them for the first ten days and were able to really focus on being there for the kids. Anju has had a few rough days since but overall we've done pretty well. Anjali and Dhruv seem to be happy with apartment life (though our neighbor downstairs hasn't had as much fun with their running around). I am loving the sunshine and long walks with the kids. Dhruv and Anjali are happy to be around extended family and to get so much time outdoors. Dhruv does miss his friends and school a lot though. Poor guy! I am looking forward to his joining kindergarten in fall. I think he is really ready for formal schooling.
Now, back to Anjali. The strongest part of Anjali is her unconquerable spirit. She is a true survivor. She's had a lot of good moments so far in her new home. She is in pure bliss when we are outdoors. She just loves running around and playing. Indoors, it was a little harder to contain her energy but I see how much she has grown and matured. She seems to be okay with some of her stuff being in storage. She seems to be okay with meeting new people. She's definitely more social now-a-days and is gentler with her peers. She's friendly when she meets kids at the park and looks for help when there is a confrontation. Her improvement in speaking is just astounding. She talks clearly and has the cutest way of constructing sentences. She narrates tall tales about things that happened and even tells Dhruv that he's 'not funny' when he's teasing her. Even on the craziest of days seeing the kids move forward with smiles on their faces seems to get me back into a grateful space.
Now on to the top headlines of the month. :)
I was nervous. Not about coordinating the move and making sure our stuff showed up in our apartment in Austin (as opposed to sitting in storage for the next few months) but about what this change would mean to Anjali. As Dhruv correctly pointed out, Anjali has had three homes already! Boy, despite everything and constant changes she's really hung in there. We have Janardhan's cousin and his family in town here in Austin so we stayed with them for the first ten days and were able to really focus on being there for the kids. Anju has had a few rough days since but overall we've done pretty well. Anjali and Dhruv seem to be happy with apartment life (though our neighbor downstairs hasn't had as much fun with their running around). I am loving the sunshine and long walks with the kids. Dhruv and Anjali are happy to be around extended family and to get so much time outdoors. Dhruv does miss his friends and school a lot though. Poor guy! I am looking forward to his joining kindergarten in fall. I think he is really ready for formal schooling.
Now, back to Anjali. The strongest part of Anjali is her unconquerable spirit. She is a true survivor. She's had a lot of good moments so far in her new home. She is in pure bliss when we are outdoors. She just loves running around and playing. Indoors, it was a little harder to contain her energy but I see how much she has grown and matured. She seems to be okay with some of her stuff being in storage. She seems to be okay with meeting new people. She's definitely more social now-a-days and is gentler with her peers. She's friendly when she meets kids at the park and looks for help when there is a confrontation. Her improvement in speaking is just astounding. She talks clearly and has the cutest way of constructing sentences. She narrates tall tales about things that happened and even tells Dhruv that he's 'not funny' when he's teasing her. Even on the craziest of days seeing the kids move forward with smiles on their faces seems to get me back into a grateful space.
Now on to the top headlines of the month. :)
- I have had a few 'mommy is going to go nuts' moments. I have been locked in a two bedroom apartment with two mischievous and precocious kids and no Janardhan nearby to give me adult company. J's work in Oregon was a 2 minute drive from home so we always ate lunch together. I have to confess I miss my adult lunch buddy!!!
- Anjali is back to bouncing-around-Anju. Eating and running seem to happen in parallel and after sitting around for close to an hour at each meal to feed Anju her bites, I turned into 'strict' mommy and told her that she would be done with her meal if she got down from her chair. Since then I have had a few peaceful meals and some agonizing ones. Threenagers are HARD as they love to challenge your patience.
- Anjali sits through a 20 minute show without getting up!Yippeeeee!! Okay, I know that TV time should be restricted but I am super happy that she actually enjoys watching Mother Goose Club. I feel this is a huge milestone for her as being able to sit and focus on an activity that long is new for her.
- Anjali and Dhruv. The mischievous two. They can't seem to figure out if they want to hug either other or fight. Outdoors they are the best of pals. Anjali even calls out to Dhruv when he bikes ahead saying, "Wait Anna. I love you." In the apartment it is a whole other story. I have had to discipline both of them as their play gets really loud and rambunctious as times. Dhruv has become a big boy now and agrees to play in his room for short periods of time so that I can get things done. This helps as I can give Anjali more attention and keep her occupied.
- Now onto the moment of the month. There are lots of sweet moments with children. They are so cute and adorable when they aren't raising hell. But, there are moments that just blow your mind. This week, I was having a hard day. As a parent in a new city I have had the challenge of keeping my kids entertained, fed and happy while house-hunting, preschool hunting, school touring, setting up accounts, doctors, etc. I've had my hands full. I was not feeling particularly pleased and Anjali insisted on helping me put away the laundry instead of playing with her toys. Kids seem to wear 8 million outfits and just matching the pairs takes me ages. Anjali likes a faster pace with the laundry putting away task than I can handle. Suddenly, she spotted a kitchen towel in the basket and showed it to me. I was like 'Oh no! Now, Anjali will want me to go to the kitchen and put it away.' She looked at me and said, "Mama where are kitchen towel be?" (That is Anjali's way of asking where does the kitchen towel go?) That was the moment! I just burst out laughing as my little task master spoke the cutest sentence ever. I was blown away by her improvement in speech. I have sat in speech therapy with her for so many months. Just saying the 's' and 'f' sounds took her six months and she used to so exhausted by the effort that she would nap in the car. And here she is now. Constructing a full sentence all by herself. I was humbled by the sheer magnitude of transformation that I have had the honor of witnessing in my life. Seeing Anjali grow and become her own tiny person with a right to freedom, choice and respect really fills me with hope for a better world. Anjali being with us has been the sum of choices that people have made for her but not by her. I pray that the world that made them for her now paves the way for her to make her own choices and build her own dreams.
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