Robin Chartier – Page 99

Nostalgia, 29 times over

I opened my email yesterday to find this heart-crushingly beautiful photo staring back at me.

These adorable babies were MINE. And they seemed so old at the time compared to a few years before. I’m going to look back at photos from these days in Bahrain and think the same thing, aren’t I?

I’m trying to figure out what year this is. My guess is Fall of 2007? That would make Calvin 8, Carter 6, and Caleb 3. They could also be a year younger since my boys all started losing teeth at 4 years old and Carter is definitely toothless. Caleb is wearing a size 4T Lands End jacket that was passed down through all 3 boys, making the crazy $100 price tag when I bought it in 2002 seem like a bargain by the time we passed it on to another family in 2009. Carter is wearing a T-shirt from a Thanksgiving trip to Arizona to meet up with the Chartier side of the family and went to an Old West town for the day (and rode a camel for the very first time — well before camels were even a glimpse on our horizon). Calvin’s hair is still short and I don’t see a mohawk so it’s either the very beginning of Josh’s deployment (2007) or the year before.

29 Palms was the perfect place to homeschool these boys. Non-stop running around outside, fabulous friends and church community, the great desert outdoors . . . if only I had kept a blog then.

Starting over

Somebody chewed me up and spit me out — my body is a broken down mess. The napping has continued. I think I’ve napped 5 out of the last 7 days, even after sleeping in until 9 am every morning (I haven’t gotten up to get the boys off to school since Josh came home. I’ve been sleeping through my alarm. Not turning it off and going back to sleep — not even hearing it to begin with.). And I don’t nap well. It’s the deep, drooling sleep of the dead. The kind that pulls you down against your will and doesn’t release for 3 hours and upon waking Rip van Winkle style, you realize it’s dinnertime, but someone else is already in the kitchen feeding the crew and you might as well go back to bed because you feel more hungover than hungry.

The headache started yesterday. They happen periodically and sometimes last for several days. It’s a side effect of being overseas and away from my beloved Dr. Gailey who gently realigned my neck, shoulders and jaw every month and kept me migraine free for almost 3 years. Now I pop Motrin, drink Coke, lie on ice and hope that this one won’t last as long as the last one (4 days).

I figure I must have been running on empty all summer and now I’m paying the price. I’m also realizing that while there are many advantages to not moving, there is one definite disadvantage: the very full calendar gets even fuller. Every two years I am freed of all obligations as I move to a new place with people who have no clue who I am and to whom I’ve made no commitments. It’s a mandatory break from responsibilities. Sure I don’t know anyone, but it also means I don’t have to coach, teach, coordinate, host or plan anything. It’s several months of blending into the crowd, sitting in the back row of church, or slipping in and out of somewhere without being noticed. I guess it can be lonely, but it’s also deliciously freeing.

This year though, I have responsibilities on the brain and checklists of people I need to meet with either officially or just face to face in the crush of post church chatter or in passing while on base. Did I bring the registration forms? Are we getting together on Wed or Thurs this week for the planning meeting? Am I supposed to notify the teachers by email or is someone else doing that? I don’t do much, but what is on my schedule is eating up all of my brain power.

In other news, Miss Camille is still making us laugh. In this episode, she put her tights on Caleb’s head and then tied the “ears” to the back of her chair. I vaguely remember Caleb yelling, “Don’t put this online!” but I think by online, he meant Facebook, right?

She’s also very happy to have her Daddy home.

Thrilled.

Carter talked me into buying these two “interesting” flavors of Lay’s. Brazilian BBQ is “so good” according to Calvin. Japanese Sweet and Sour Sauce sounds more appealing than the English Cheese and Onion so points for that. There are 6 different varieties and I’m sure I’ll get suckered into letting the kids try them all eventually. Be forewarned. The Brits love Ketchup flavored crisps (their word for potato chips — chips to them are french fries), but they are nasty. Ick.

Field test results: Brazilian BBQ tastes just like biting into grilled chicken. The chips actually taste like meat. Freaky. And Sweet and Sour sauce was not made for potatoes. I’ll stick with Ruffles Sour Cream and Cheddar please.

Girlie dressed up to go to the souk yesterday. A fancy hand-me-down silky party dress with her striped socks and tennis shoes.

Work it, girl.

Cars and dates

Josh has been home for a week and it feels like my first post since his return should sum up all the amazing things we’ve said, done, and felt since his return, but I can’t remember anything noteworthy. Life’s been pretty . . . normal?

He has spent a bunch of time looking for a replacement car for the Montero that went to SUV heaven. It’s a bit sad since that car has been around the world with us, tackled dunes and curbs with the best of them and now it’s gone. The mechanic met with Josh to talk about the logistics of scrapping it after I let it run out of oil. He reassured him, “I’m sure she’s much better with things inside the home.” Ah, yes. A Proverbs 31 wife for sure.

As hard as the heat, sand, and rough roads are on cars here, they are expensive for what you get. I suppose that’s part of the cost of everything having to be imported to our island location. We were looking for a replacement Montero since in spite of lacking an idiot oil warning light, it’s a pretty awesome car to drive. The reason we chose it in the first place is because they are all over the Middle East and easy to repair and find parts for (unless you need to replace an American specs engine. Whoops). So Josh was looking at Pajeros (the name for Monteros in this region), same car, different name, with speedometers that measure in kms instead of miles. But the used ones we saw were running around $7000 dollars, which is CRAZY for a car that has bald tires, ripped seats, peanuts and food trash stuck in the seat cracks, and a dent in the door (that particular car the asking price was $7,700). So we expanded our search to other models of cars that would seat 7 and realized the reason we settled on the Montero/Pajero to begin with was because Mitsubishis are actually cheaper than Toyotas, Hondas, Nissans, etc. Back to square one.

One of the problems is there is no enforced seat-belt law here so the number of cars that seat more than 5 people are in short supply. It’s not uncommon to see a family car with many more passengers than seat belts. Extra points if the kids are actually seated and not hanging out the window, climbing in between the front and the back, or even sitting in the driver’s lap.

We did find a car — well our mechanic found it for us. I think he feels sorry for Josh, being saddled with such an incompetent helpmeet. When Josh told me it’s called a Sangyong, first I was all, “Say what now?” and wondered what sort of knockoff car he was going to make me drive. But an instant later, I was YES I WANT IT so I can say I drive an Anyong! and be the envy of Arrested Development fans everywhere.

Here’s my Anyong — I haven’t driven it yet, but it seats 7 and it’s under $5000. It’s a little miracle on wheels. I’ll let you know how I really feel about it when I get to drive it next week.

Meanwhile, back on the ranch . . .

the dates are ripening

HUGE bunches of dates.

A guy came the other day and shinnied up the tree to cut them down.

These are the dates that are partially ripened/dried — people often eat fresh dates here that are half red/half brown. I think the unripe part tastes like a green banana — very starchy.

Our landlord instructed the date guys to leave one of the bunches for us.

We weren’t sure how to dry them, but thanks to the wonder of YouTube — there’s a video for that. Supposedly the best way is to strip them from the vines and lay them out in a single layer to dry in the sun for several days.

What better use for an old baby gate?

This is what they look like after 3 days of “cooking.”

Home, Sweet Home

Looks like we made it, the Eagle has landed, halas, finito, The End, and a million other ways of saying: Josh is home!

No photos of the happy reunion because it took place at 1am at the airport with the kids sleepy in pajamas and he rolled through customs faster than I could find a parking spot. Besides, Josh was still in deployment mode with his mustache so the homecoming wasn’t complete until he got home and shaved it off. By that time it was 2 am and he’d been up for 24 hours and the kids were back in bed since the bus comes early.

Speaking of early busses, I woke up at 8:30 having never heard my 6:30 alarm. I guess all 3 boys got up on their own, showered, dressed, ate breakfast (or not, depending on the kid) and caught the bus — all without waking us. Most fabulous kids ever. LOVE THEM!

I guess the independent streak runs deep and starts early because I woke up yesterday morning to a bed full of food crumbs and no idea where they came from. As I was brushing them off in disgust, Camille rolled over and said, “It’s just bread. I got hungry last night.”

Day for Kids

Calvin has been working all summer at a paid internship on base. The program places students in a variety of jobs: food service, maintenance, the gym, movie theater, marketing department, child care, etc. Calvin has been working with the school age care program and it has been a perfect match for his gifts. This summer the base brought in a group of college age students with the Camp Adventure program from the US to run summer camps for the kids. Calvin has loved working alongside of them, singing songs, getting whipped cream pies in the face every Thursday, playing with the kids, and assisting with field trips.

The other part of his internship was a long-term project where all of the teen employees were responsible for collaborating on a Day for Kids. They had to plan the event, book the location and gear required, figure out food, promote the event to the base community, etc. Calvin was nervous it wasn’t going to all come together at the end (What if the people in charge of the food made a mistake in the ordering? Did the right date and time get printed on the flyers?), but we had a great day.

The gym was set up with carnival games, a gaga ball ring (a game similar to dodge ball, but played on the fly with the palm of the hand and the added strategy of using the curved wall to direct the ball), bouncy structures, face painting, prizes and food.

Gaga ball in action. My boys love it. By the end there were some parents getting into it too.

It starts with a ring full of people. If you get hit between your foot and knee, you are out. If you hit the ball over the wall you are out. Last one standing, wins.