Thoughts from Ethiopia

You know I had a thought recently. It’s true I know I don’t get many but here goes. History has a way of writing itself. These are the most memorable times of our lives right now we are in a far off country picking up our daughter and blogging it. This is our account, well my account, my wife may have a different view which is my point exactly. History is told by one person’s account and retold using that account. Years from now that becomes the point of fact. Recently Barack Obama flubbed his swearing in the oath of office. He re-did it and recorded it as history. Are there re-dos in history? Of course there are! Remember Douglas MacArthur landing on Leyte Beach in WWII. That was a re-do at least on film it was. I think in today’s world, CNN and Wikipedia will hold us all accountable, at least for the major events of the world.

So here is my bit of history. Today we went to get Kalllie’s last vaccination. It was an adventure as Jenny has written and maybe the whole vaccination thing played apart in Kallie’s behavior the rest of the day. As far as attachment issues I’ve become or am becoming more aware of what could be there. I think under different circumstances I would have blown it off. For example, the moment she got her shot she was in the lap of Hana, (her nurse and someone she has known and trusted her whole life) but the realization of pain made her reach out for us. Okay that was cool. I took her from Hana as Kallie reached out. I was able to console her for a brief moment before someone else stepped in. (Read into this folks, it is being edited). So Jen took her back to the car and off we went with vaccination records in hand. We stopped at a little open air shack which is Ethiopia’s equivalent to Kinko’s the copy place and took copies of the records and we were home soon enough.

As far as consoling and cuddling goes it was an up and down day. There have been times today where Kallie didn’t want to be held and she just kind of sucked her thumb and rubbed her blanket. Then there were certainly times where we could not let go of her. Today we were finally able to let her play on the bed by herself without her crying. She even squirmed over to other parts of the bed where a different toy was and she grabbed it. But those moments are fleeting and we have to build on those when they come again.

We had our first ‘child in restaurant’ episode this evening. We decided to venture out to Makush a kind of Art Gallery and restaurant all tied in to one. On the walls were these amazing paintings by local artists. I wish I knew more about art styles but some were very real looking pieces, some more abstract, and some were just lines on a canvas that if you stared at long enough really came to life. We were seated in a quaint little table for two, with one on lap. Did I ever tell you Kallie may very well be a drummer.

“Wham, wham, wham!”

The big spoon at Jenny’s place setting makes a thunderous sound on our table. How delightful. Jen soon moves the other items in front of her to a very attractive yet functional radius about the size of a short arm. The circle of fun!

In the background I hear “ Table for six?” There were some very well dressed, older people walking in and were being seated down a couple of tables over. They were quite well dressed or perhaps I was under dressed, no matter. I can over hear their conversation about the artwork in the room and how good the food is hear blah, blah, blah . . .

“Wham, wham, wham”

There goes the big spoon on the table. It somehow got louder or the place got quieter I’m not sure. So Jen takes the spoon away from Kallie. Did you know Kallie isn’t big on words. She’s doesn’t say much but when she’s mad and in a mood she’ll let you know. She scrunches up her face and makes this sound like “EEEE!” It’s not really loud but its kind of fun to watch as she waves her hand. I swear she is shaking her fist. So what does an 11 month old do when something is taken away? She lunges for it of course but Jen was quick to put it outside the circle of fun. What was inside the circle of fun was the table cloth.

So after we changed our meal plan from dining in to take-out. I noticed that the table for six had moved to the far side of the restaurant. But through it all the people in charge were extremely nice. They even held Kallie and played peek a boo with her. Ethiopians are incredible with children, maybe that is too broad a statement but I have yet to find one who doesn’t crack a smile and wave to Kallie as we walked around today.

Our take-out didn’t quite meet our needs. I think the whole selling point for Makush is the atmosphere and not the food. Jenny couldn’t eat hers and me I’m lactose intolerant so getting an order of CHEESE ravioli in a cheesy tomato sauce wasn’t a great idea. The menu said Ravioli in Brown sauce. Usually I have a 50/50 shot of getting meat ravioli. I played the odds and lost. Our doorman was very appreciative of the meal

Keep moving folks I’ll see you tomorrow. Today’s history is written.