Scenes from March

Vaughn, Miles and Eliza 

Eliza decorated and furnished her doll house and left it outside for the fairies.

Panache and Eliza having milk 

Vaughn and Miles looking at a comic book

Rainy Season (Jan-Feb)

Rainy season!

Tracy and Zavion left us in mid January to travel around Kenya and Ethiopia. We continued with life as usual. Miles and Eliza had their after school guitar and dance lessons, respectively.

Miles was studying the rainforests of the world in his unit. He'd gone on a field trip to the botanical garden near our house. He wanted to show us his favorite trees, so we went as a family one Sunday, and of course we had to hurry home because of the torrential downpour that hit us in the afternoon.

Small Baobab (pronounced bayo-bab..."a" like in like tab)

Fig Tree - roots grow out of the branches, hanging until they hit the earth and latch on, spreading the width of the tree

Our garden was productive in the rainy season - we had lots to harvest: corn, eggplant, tomatoes, etc.

Tomato pie with tomatoes and basil from the garden

More rainy season - our lush garden 

Mambo - King of the Garden surveying his territory

The PTO helped with the annual campaign to raise money for children in Zimbabwe with cancer. Miles's class, having completed a unit on heroes and learning that heroes help people in need, took charge of the bandana sales. Wearing orange raises awareness about the issue. They earned $200 after two days of sales around campus! Well done, Grade 2!

Miles is hiding here behind the girl in the white cap, but this is his class - Grade 2 A&B.

One of the school's many peacocks resting on an art table.

Adding to the family...

Pet Love

Although Mambo is enough pet to fill the hearts of the whole family. Eliza had bigger dreams. For years she had been asking for a puppy. We started off with our first hamster. She named him Furry.

Little did we know that in February a puppy was being born who we would later adopt...

In the meantime, we had Furry. And Eliza finally got a pink room.

Continuing this trip down memory lane...

December was really a family month...(aren't they all?)... Tracy and Zavion were with us, and Jack and Anne visited. Big events like Christmas and the trip to Imire were covered in other blogs. To ensure we are being as comprehensive as possible to interested grandmothers (etc)... here are some other highlights from December 2011.

There were the end of school year performances. As hard as he worked on it, Miles's concert was less photogenic than Eliza and Zavion's adorable performance on their "Living Things" unit.

Eliza and Zavion's precious EC2 performance on living things

Eliza was a bee. Zavion was a frog.

Sometimes one is lucky enough to be included in another family's traditions. My theory is that we expats all make an extra effort when abroad to bring holiday cheer to a not-like-home environment. My first xmas away from home in the Peace Corps - so pitiful yet so powerful. Well, now we're all grown up, and Sheryl has introduced cookie decorating! Who knew that 40-something-year-olds (and kids) could have so much fun with edible writing and glitter.

And what's a long Christmas holiday in Africa without lying in the sun and playing in the pool?

Fun at the pool - David throwing all the kids. 

If you can't see the slide show below, click here for the full album.

Thanksgiving Weekend in Nyanga

We have spent so many wonderful holidays with friends Sheryl and Vaughn, and this time we had a chance to meet V's dad, Michel, who visited from Kenya. Tracy and Zavion were staying with us at the time, as well, so we had a full family house for the holiday. We had dinner on Thanksgiving day at Sheryl's, then went to Nyanga for the weekend, staying at Springhyde.

View of the house from the ridge.

the pack

Although Eliza wasn't well the first days, we rarely had electricity or phone connection (forget internet), and it was rainy - you can't beat being up in the mountains to force you to slow down and relax. Every day the mists would roll in, the clouds would overtake us as we were cooking dinner on the braai, and we would retreat to a huge fireplace, books, games and conversation.

Tracy, Zavion, Eliza and I went horseback riding one morning while David golfed at nearby Troutbeck.

Vaughn with parents Sheryl and Michel

Tracy and Zavion were huge motivators when it ca to getting out and seeing something of Zimbabwe. As you'll see from the next blogs, once T and Z leave, we did a lot more staying at home.

David's sister Tracy and her son Zavion who lived with us Sept. 2011 - Jan. 2012

David climbing around the waterfalls

If you're on your iPhone or iPad and can't see the slide show below. Click here to see the rest of the photos.

Catching up: Photos from August - November

Without access to Kodakgallery.com since we came to Zimbabwe (and now it looks like the end for Kodak!), the best way I can share photos is through Picasa. The following slideshows are also links to get to the picasa photo albums. You'll see photos I've already pulled out for the few blogs I wrote this school year, but for the grandmoms (and anyone else??) who hunger for more...these are the highlights!

If you can't see the slide show. Click here.



Had to capture the garden in late October - early November, springtime in Harare. These photos are dedicated to my nephew Nicholas who was born just before I took them.

If you can't see the slide show. Click here.

Color House Day 2012

Competition. Some people think it's healthy. Others think it's destructive and unfair. There's nothing like parenting to work through one's own views.

Who hasn't felt the pain of losing, and of being left out? Whose joy of a thing hasn't been marred if not outright killed by rejection and criticism?

Perhaps all those younger folks? The ones who received trophies for participating and everyone's a winner?

Even with the last twenty or so years of sensitivity to the least of us, the U.S. is still competitive. It is still loud and proud, and it's in my veins. The elation I feel at winning - it's in the gut and shamefully hard to suppress. When I score in ultimate, I prance. When I win at cards, I work to suppress my smirk.

When I see my son taking the lead in a race? I'm hysterical inside. There appear to be no other parents at HIS elementary (other than my husband) who care half as much as we do. For example, I am the only one cheering. Or maybe I'm so loud I don't hear the others? No. The others are having conversations and not even paying attention. The race is on, people!

I'm torn, though. Live and let live? To each his own? We should not judge ourselves against others. We should celebrate effort. It's a beautiful thing to see everyone try to be their best. Is it then competition with self that's healthy? Be all that you can be. Or be a failure?

Miles is funny. The way I understand it: he's so competitive he won't compete. He can't stand not being the best, so he won't even participate in a sport. We have been trying to talk him out of these irrational expectations and get him to just enjoy play. But his anxiety is so intense that we are only pushing him slightly. I'm afraid if we push too hard now (age 7), he will permanently place himself in the "not-a-jock" camp, which would be a loss.

That said, I was not going to let him get away with not participating in the big run on Color House Day this year. He insisted all week, he wasn't going to do it.

When do you, as a parent, sit back and not say anything, and when do you use an opportunity to teach an important lesson? If I preached, he argued back. If I let the day sneak up on us, he likely would have gotten on with it without much fuss. But of course, I couldn't say nothing.

It was the last event of the day, and he literally tried to sneak away. I silently (by that point) walked him back and told him he had to stay with his class, and between the teacher saying everybody had to do it and David saying, just run, even if it's not your fastest run, Miles managed to pull it together. He made a point of not trying at first, but then he couldn't help himself, and he finished strong in third place.

I was extremely proud of him for not giving up before he even tried, and he was proud of himself. Whew.

Remembering Eliza

Yesterday I read something I'd written about Eliza when she was a baby. Like most parents, I've forgotten most of it. There are the photos and a few videos, but in writing I'd captured something else - how things used to be - Eliza's baby personality, her delicious baby gestures, baby emotions and her relationship with us.

Amman, Jordan - January 2008

Eliza is so different now. She is a little girl with her fashion sensibility, her love for drama, and her interest in animals. She interacts with the world and us in a totally different way. What had been subtle, inarticulate baby behaviors - sitting content in my lap during coffee conversations with other moms or laughter at the rough play with her brother or continuous babble before she knew more than a few words - developed into interest in going out and socializing, a degree of spiritedness to match her brother's intensity and (no surprise in this family) loquaciousness.

Harare, Zimbabwe - January 2012

Remembering Eliza the baby made me remember loving her then, as she was then, and as much as I love her now, I can't help but be a bit heart broken at not having baby Eliza anymore.

Sunday morning fashions

bats in pjs

rolling in the deeeeep! you had my heart insiiiiiide your hands!

#1 bee in the school musical

more weekend dress up

trying to hang earrings on unpierced ears

this is getting boring, mom.