Derama Obama
Good evening my American friends and family. Out my window I see dripping tree ferns and lush green undergrowth in the last misty hour of daylight. It looks no different than it did last week, but much has changed. The American people (Matt and I included) elected a man that Matt and I really respect. He gives us hope for the future, rather than fear and shame. No matter who the president is, if you voted for the winner, it feels rather different than when you voted for the loser. The last time I voted for the winner I was nineteen years old and didn’t know much about politics, just how my parents usually voted. This time I was 31 years old and sat in a living room in Australia glued to the television on Wednesday between 11am and 4:30pm with my two little girls. The girls knew something had to be going on for their mom to sit in front of the television in daylight. Jacinta knew we were choosing a new rule maker for the USA. “Why do we want a new one? Why do you like Derama Obama better than the other man? Why is it just men? What is war? Why do they send people to other places and kill them? We don’t want to kill anyone or anything, do we mommy?” We talked about the fact that we do kill things, like mosquitoes, rats, mice, caterpillars, fruit flies: anything that destroys the things we need. We did not discuss why one would kill another human though, luckily she doesn’t know this happens yet. These were all very hard questions to answer in four year old terms and actually keep her feeling that the world and most of the people in it are good.
We danced the happy dance as each new state was called for Obama. Matt got off work early to join us, anxious all day that he was missing out. (The election has been a MAJOR pastime for Matt, so much that he is now searching other forms of entertainment). We had to take breaks for hanging out laundry, helping Genevieve go down for a nap and going to swimming lessons. But we made it back just in time for Obama’s acceptance speech, live, luckily. Seeing the new American President elect accept his new commission in my hometown in Grant Park was amazing, moving, beautiful. Of course Barrack Obama cannot save the world, or make the USA a place capable of taking good care of the earth and all of its people in just four years. But he can get us further than anyone else running for office, certainly with the help of all the people mobilized to elect him. He again used the word sacrifice in his acceptance speech. The strong African-American presence, standing alongside the newly involved youth, standing alongside the more “normal” looking political crowd: what a beautiful tapestry. The face of politics is changing. Diversity can only bring a more egalitarian, balanced government.
I am usually pretty optimistic and hopeful (Thank you Mommy) but not when I think of government. What has changed is that I feel hope not only in the little pockets around me, but also in a massive, powerful institution, the US government. It has the power and has, at times, used it to wreak havoc around the planet to secure its best interests. But it also has the power to do good, and has done so in the past. I won’t expand (you may breathe a sigh of relief), but just say that with sacrifice and creativity America can really do some good for the earth and the whole human race.
To top off the week’s excitement, the girls and I went out to Coffs Harbour on Friday to spend the day with our new Togolese friends. They are political refugees from a tiny French-speaking West African country. Of the family of six, we spent time with a lovely lady my age and her two sons, ages 3 and 5. For confidentiality reasons, I can’t give too many details. For me, it was like finding a part of me that only comes out in the presence of a strong African woman. I made a friend: the African mother I dream of sharing with my daughters. She has much knowledge and experience to share with me, as I have to share with her. She seeks understanding, a place in this strange city, community, and friendship. She did not choose to come here, but is grateful for her safety and the good, caring Australian government. She has good memories of her more distant past and found joy in talking about the trees and foods of her home. The girls and I knew a few Togolese songs, which our new friends happened to know. The mother smiled and transported herself home. She hummed the lullaby, wistfully translated the words from Mino into French and showed us the accompanying movements. She speaks five languages, but not much English.
Jacinta understands this not as “volunteer work,” but as making new friends. She tried her best to play with the little boys, but mostly listened, observed and stayed close by my side. Genevieve moseyed around in search of toys, food and fun, doing whatever everyone was doing. Jacinta knows that her job is to play and to help the boys learn English. She reminded me how to pronounce the name of their language, “Ewe mommy, they say Yehway.” Children rise to the challenge when given one. Jacinta was more patient and tolerant than I have seen her. She didn’t show much desire to join the boys until we had been there for a few hours. My girls and the boys had no language in common. The children interacted when drawing pictures at the kitchen table and also playing at the park. Although this was nothing like frolicking with her friends in the back yard, Jacinta felt the importance of this day somehow and actually wanted to stay longer than I expected. As we drove home, Jacinta reported that she had taught the mother the word “watermelon,” proudly demonstrating how she slowly pronounced it for her, “wah-ta-mehl-on.” Genevieve slept. This very different experience for Jacinta was just another place to play for Genevieve. It just happened to be a place where a lot of French and Ewe were spoken, and not much English.
Genevieve loves to play anywhere, but this week she has needed extra cuddles. Not only are her eye teeth coming through, but earned her first bee sting by grabbing a borage flower. Jacinta dove in as the helpful big sister, fetching things I needed for the sting (baking soda, cloths and ice) also adding in distractions. She kept the plums and gingerbread cookies rolling in and kept the drinks coming, all the while confidently assuring her sister, “That’s all you need Evie, ice and bi-carb, it’s going to get better.” She had splinters and got pink-eye. She then cut her foot on an oyster shell. Mary and Keith arrived home this week. In addition to the girls’ excitement to have their playmates back, it was really lucky to have their help with this oyster cut. Mary cleaned it out as well as she could while the rest of us distracted her with shaving cream. That night we did have the emergency room doctor take a look, just in case. The extraordinarily informative emergency room doctor reassured us that it was going to be fine and gave us a few good baby bandages to keep the slice clean and covered. She can’t walk very well and has taken to saying, “Cawwy me,” very cutely.
Although Genevieve is dripping from numerous parts of her little body and is sore in many places, she is not sleeping any more than before. She wakes more in the night, but sleep in the morning. As my need for sleep increased this week, her attempts to get me out of bed went up a level. After a few attempts of “Mommy open eyes, mommy wake up, open eyes,” she said angrily, “Naughty mommy! no close eyes!” She did actually succeed in rousing me with laughter.
Little children are easily distracted from their pain when they have other tasks at hand, I guess we all are. Genevieve is happy that the mosquitoes have finally arrived. You can just smack the air and she giggles instantly, saying “moustique!” waiting for your next attempt to smash a mosquito. Easy entertainment, by day Evie is quite happy doing anything. From “helping out” with the dishes, playing with random bits of anything to imaginative play with her big sister. The girls really came up with some lovely games this month, riding bikes together, riding together on the rocking horse, taking turns sometimes and battling it out others. Genevieve of course prefers one on one attention, but what is more natural in a family is that the adults are usually busy doing something as there are many tasks to run a household. Jacinta fills that role more now. When we can enjoy the sights and sounds of our little girls playing together without any adult input while we are busy doing our own tasks, Matt and I really love the size of our tiny house. But both of us do love when we can just sit down and play. For Genevieve, the second child, it is special. Jacinta expects this, she was once an only child.
It is raining and has been doing so intermittently all week long. This is why the mosquitoes have been able to increase their numbers, but also good for our water supply and garden. The rain has done all the work in the garden, this is my excuse for not having found the time to do much at all. Jacinta did plant a box of carrots and we picked fruit. The nectarines and plums are still in seasons and taste really nice. We actually dried a bunch of plums, which was a mistake. They turned bitter like cranberries in the drier, so we are using them in muffins. The weeds will be pretty rough after all this rain. The chickens will like the weeds. Speaking of chickens, they all escaped this week. I spent a frustrating afternoon cussing them out while I shamelessly chased them, in vain. I guess I only enjoy chicken chasing when I’m in the mood. I actually caught the wild rooster in a cage, but when Matt went to move him into the pen, the sneaky thing escaped again. Then Matt did some shameless chicken chasing and enjoyed himself, releasing work stress through rooster harassment. A few days later, a fox got the wild rooster early in the morning. Too bad we couldn’t convince him to live in our safe little chicken pen. The wild life does seem much better though.
The past few weeks Matt has been working on a small storage shed, neighboring the chicken pen. Last week he put a roof on so he could work through the rain. Now that he knows he can build a house, he seems pretty confident to build little buildings. This shed went up in less than a month, all wooden with a tin roof and a window for sunlight. I’m sure we’ll be able to fill it up pretty quickly. Jacinta loves building with her daddy. Since she helped a little bit along the way, she takes great interest in the daily progress. Genevieve too is interested in the cute little shed. She always found a way to sneak onto the dangerous building site, so I am grateful that it is finished.
After Jacinta has heard a few bedtime stories, she now tries to convince us that she is not sleepy. I leave her but Matt humors her since he has been gone most of the day. I hear them from the other room. “Tell me about your day Jacinta.” “No Daddy, you tell me first.” I never listen to what they say, but I wonder how Matt describes his day to a four year old. I wonder how Jacinta describes what we have done all day. Matt’s voice usually stops pretty quickly, but I can hear Jacinta’s voice through the walls going on and on. What an opportunity, to have her daddy right there, doing nothing else, wanting nothing more than to listen to his little girl talk. Jacinta is very lucky, her daddy knows what chatty girls need. We all are lucky for one reason or another.
I wish you all luck and a loved one who knows what you need. We might long for an open ear, a warm embrace, a place to stay, or someone to play with. My new Togolese friend probably longs for these same things, plus a few more. She has gone through a hell that I could never imagine, but even so, she has a place to stay and counts her blessings that she can walk anywhere without fear for her life (besides on the highway). The Aussie government knows what its people need and provide universal health care for them. Someday the US may be able to be do so. We can hope and help somehow, all in time.
Peace,
Shana
We danced the happy dance as each new state was called for Obama. Matt got off work early to join us, anxious all day that he was missing out. (The election has been a MAJOR pastime for Matt, so much that he is now searching other forms of entertainment). We had to take breaks for hanging out laundry, helping Genevieve go down for a nap and going to swimming lessons. But we made it back just in time for Obama’s acceptance speech, live, luckily. Seeing the new American President elect accept his new commission in my hometown in Grant Park was amazing, moving, beautiful. Of course Barrack Obama cannot save the world, or make the USA a place capable of taking good care of the earth and all of its people in just four years. But he can get us further than anyone else running for office, certainly with the help of all the people mobilized to elect him. He again used the word sacrifice in his acceptance speech. The strong African-American presence, standing alongside the newly involved youth, standing alongside the more “normal” looking political crowd: what a beautiful tapestry. The face of politics is changing. Diversity can only bring a more egalitarian, balanced government.
I am usually pretty optimistic and hopeful (Thank you Mommy) but not when I think of government. What has changed is that I feel hope not only in the little pockets around me, but also in a massive, powerful institution, the US government. It has the power and has, at times, used it to wreak havoc around the planet to secure its best interests. But it also has the power to do good, and has done so in the past. I won’t expand (you may breathe a sigh of relief), but just say that with sacrifice and creativity America can really do some good for the earth and the whole human race.
To top off the week’s excitement, the girls and I went out to Coffs Harbour on Friday to spend the day with our new Togolese friends. They are political refugees from a tiny French-speaking West African country. Of the family of six, we spent time with a lovely lady my age and her two sons, ages 3 and 5. For confidentiality reasons, I can’t give too many details. For me, it was like finding a part of me that only comes out in the presence of a strong African woman. I made a friend: the African mother I dream of sharing with my daughters. She has much knowledge and experience to share with me, as I have to share with her. She seeks understanding, a place in this strange city, community, and friendship. She did not choose to come here, but is grateful for her safety and the good, caring Australian government. She has good memories of her more distant past and found joy in talking about the trees and foods of her home. The girls and I knew a few Togolese songs, which our new friends happened to know. The mother smiled and transported herself home. She hummed the lullaby, wistfully translated the words from Mino into French and showed us the accompanying movements. She speaks five languages, but not much English.
Jacinta understands this not as “volunteer work,” but as making new friends. She tried her best to play with the little boys, but mostly listened, observed and stayed close by my side. Genevieve moseyed around in search of toys, food and fun, doing whatever everyone was doing. Jacinta knows that her job is to play and to help the boys learn English. She reminded me how to pronounce the name of their language, “Ewe mommy, they say Yehway.” Children rise to the challenge when given one. Jacinta was more patient and tolerant than I have seen her. She didn’t show much desire to join the boys until we had been there for a few hours. My girls and the boys had no language in common. The children interacted when drawing pictures at the kitchen table and also playing at the park. Although this was nothing like frolicking with her friends in the back yard, Jacinta felt the importance of this day somehow and actually wanted to stay longer than I expected. As we drove home, Jacinta reported that she had taught the mother the word “watermelon,” proudly demonstrating how she slowly pronounced it for her, “wah-ta-mehl-on.” Genevieve slept. This very different experience for Jacinta was just another place to play for Genevieve. It just happened to be a place where a lot of French and Ewe were spoken, and not much English.
Genevieve loves to play anywhere, but this week she has needed extra cuddles. Not only are her eye teeth coming through, but earned her first bee sting by grabbing a borage flower. Jacinta dove in as the helpful big sister, fetching things I needed for the sting (baking soda, cloths and ice) also adding in distractions. She kept the plums and gingerbread cookies rolling in and kept the drinks coming, all the while confidently assuring her sister, “That’s all you need Evie, ice and bi-carb, it’s going to get better.” She had splinters and got pink-eye. She then cut her foot on an oyster shell. Mary and Keith arrived home this week. In addition to the girls’ excitement to have their playmates back, it was really lucky to have their help with this oyster cut. Mary cleaned it out as well as she could while the rest of us distracted her with shaving cream. That night we did have the emergency room doctor take a look, just in case. The extraordinarily informative emergency room doctor reassured us that it was going to be fine and gave us a few good baby bandages to keep the slice clean and covered. She can’t walk very well and has taken to saying, “Cawwy me,” very cutely.
Although Genevieve is dripping from numerous parts of her little body and is sore in many places, she is not sleeping any more than before. She wakes more in the night, but sleep in the morning. As my need for sleep increased this week, her attempts to get me out of bed went up a level. After a few attempts of “Mommy open eyes, mommy wake up, open eyes,” she said angrily, “Naughty mommy! no close eyes!” She did actually succeed in rousing me with laughter.
Little children are easily distracted from their pain when they have other tasks at hand, I guess we all are. Genevieve is happy that the mosquitoes have finally arrived. You can just smack the air and she giggles instantly, saying “moustique!” waiting for your next attempt to smash a mosquito. Easy entertainment, by day Evie is quite happy doing anything. From “helping out” with the dishes, playing with random bits of anything to imaginative play with her big sister. The girls really came up with some lovely games this month, riding bikes together, riding together on the rocking horse, taking turns sometimes and battling it out others. Genevieve of course prefers one on one attention, but what is more natural in a family is that the adults are usually busy doing something as there are many tasks to run a household. Jacinta fills that role more now. When we can enjoy the sights and sounds of our little girls playing together without any adult input while we are busy doing our own tasks, Matt and I really love the size of our tiny house. But both of us do love when we can just sit down and play. For Genevieve, the second child, it is special. Jacinta expects this, she was once an only child.
It is raining and has been doing so intermittently all week long. This is why the mosquitoes have been able to increase their numbers, but also good for our water supply and garden. The rain has done all the work in the garden, this is my excuse for not having found the time to do much at all. Jacinta did plant a box of carrots and we picked fruit. The nectarines and plums are still in seasons and taste really nice. We actually dried a bunch of plums, which was a mistake. They turned bitter like cranberries in the drier, so we are using them in muffins. The weeds will be pretty rough after all this rain. The chickens will like the weeds. Speaking of chickens, they all escaped this week. I spent a frustrating afternoon cussing them out while I shamelessly chased them, in vain. I guess I only enjoy chicken chasing when I’m in the mood. I actually caught the wild rooster in a cage, but when Matt went to move him into the pen, the sneaky thing escaped again. Then Matt did some shameless chicken chasing and enjoyed himself, releasing work stress through rooster harassment. A few days later, a fox got the wild rooster early in the morning. Too bad we couldn’t convince him to live in our safe little chicken pen. The wild life does seem much better though.
The past few weeks Matt has been working on a small storage shed, neighboring the chicken pen. Last week he put a roof on so he could work through the rain. Now that he knows he can build a house, he seems pretty confident to build little buildings. This shed went up in less than a month, all wooden with a tin roof and a window for sunlight. I’m sure we’ll be able to fill it up pretty quickly. Jacinta loves building with her daddy. Since she helped a little bit along the way, she takes great interest in the daily progress. Genevieve too is interested in the cute little shed. She always found a way to sneak onto the dangerous building site, so I am grateful that it is finished.
After Jacinta has heard a few bedtime stories, she now tries to convince us that she is not sleepy. I leave her but Matt humors her since he has been gone most of the day. I hear them from the other room. “Tell me about your day Jacinta.” “No Daddy, you tell me first.” I never listen to what they say, but I wonder how Matt describes his day to a four year old. I wonder how Jacinta describes what we have done all day. Matt’s voice usually stops pretty quickly, but I can hear Jacinta’s voice through the walls going on and on. What an opportunity, to have her daddy right there, doing nothing else, wanting nothing more than to listen to his little girl talk. Jacinta is very lucky, her daddy knows what chatty girls need. We all are lucky for one reason or another.
I wish you all luck and a loved one who knows what you need. We might long for an open ear, a warm embrace, a place to stay, or someone to play with. My new Togolese friend probably longs for these same things, plus a few more. She has gone through a hell that I could never imagine, but even so, she has a place to stay and counts her blessings that she can walk anywhere without fear for her life (besides on the highway). The Aussie government knows what its people need and provide universal health care for them. Someday the US may be able to be do so. We can hope and help somehow, all in time.
Peace,
Shana
posted by Matt & Shana & Jacinta & Genevieve Henry at
11:26 PM
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