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If Life Were a Book

This chapter would be titled:

It Won’t Always Be This Hard

Juicebox started it. Now your turn.

I’m Fascinating

It’s bizarre that this baby finds me so fascinating. Everything I do -- sneeze, yawn, talk, eat, brush my teeth, fold clothes -- has his rapt attention. I wonder how long it’ll be before he realizes I’m not all that interesting.

I can be funny, though. Early yesterday evening, the baby woke up crying from a nap. Eric was going to check on him, but I told him not to -- instead, we’d wait a few minutes and then go in there, together, excited and happy and get him up for a bath.

So there the little guy was, crying in his crib, and Eric and I barge in, very excitedly throwing our hands in the air, dancing, and calling out our hellos. The baby stopped mid-cry and just stared confusedly for a moment before he was all smiles. Oh man, he had no idea what to make of this scene -- two big people appearing out of nowhere, dancing and laughing. I wish you could’ve seen the look on his face. It was hilarious.

People talk about how important consistency is for children, but I like to think there’s room for surprise in there, too. Who knows -- I may be able to stay fascinating a little while longer!

Living in Haifa

I’m so happy we are.

A Lovely Day

It’s a gorgeous day! We went for a lovely walk, visited our friends Sieni and Tara, took a wee nap in the papasan chair, and now I’m going to attempt to sneak in an episode or two of Frasier while the kid (hopefully) continues to sleep.

Though it would be a good idea for me to catch up on sleep, too, I need awake-time to myself, doing something that makes me happy, you know?

Me = Non-Blogging Blogger

Hey.

There’s so much I want to write, but I’ve been too distracted and drained to think in full sentences. Me = Kaput.

It’s lucky I have a husband who has been an active participant in parenting from the beginning. He understands and appreciates the amount of energy it takes to take care of a baby, so he never treats me like I’m on permanent vacation while he slaves away at the office. In fact, he pays me compliments by saying things like, “OH MY GOD I HAVE NO IDEA HOW YOU DO THIS ALL DAY.”

Okay, the little guy is crying. Me = Outta Here.

24.06.07

Sharpie® graffiti at a bus stop. Wonder what it says.

Pronunciation Guide

Pay attention, class, because this is the only time I’m going to explain this!

Contrary to the way it’s spelled, Mojan is pronounced MOO-zhan (the “zh” pronounced as a soft “j”). NOT Moe-john, not Moe-jann. I know this is not intuitive. That’s why I’m taking the time to tell you.

Also, let’s clarify the pronunciation of Kamyar. “Kam” rhymes with “Tom.” And “yar” rhymes with “far.” Make sense?

Now if anyone needs a pronunciation guide for Eric, just let me know.

Pointy Plant

Loving the New Apartment

I love our new apartment. It’s awesome to wake up to sunlit rooms. And the view? Wow. I never thought we’d top the view from our old condo, but we have, and it’s amazing. I could spend all day looking out at the Mediterranean, the Shrine of the Báb, Eric’s office (I can wave to him from the kitchen!), and Lebanon. Yes, it’s true, we can see Lebanon from our living room.

Kamyar has his own bedroom now, which is so weird, but it’s working out really well. He sleeps great there. Ironically, we don’t sleep so great, because we’re always getting out of bed to check on him, but I assume we won’t need to do that forever.

What else... Oh, so I thought I’d miss our old apartment like crazy, but to be honest, I haven’t even thought about it. Can you believe that, in five days, we’ve had more visitors in this apartment than we’d have in three months at our old place? Yup. Plus, I’ve already done some exploring on foot, and it seems there are so many neighborhoods to enjoy on this side of Mount Carmel. I’m really excited about that.

Time to sleep; more updates to come.

I’ll Make it Up to You

It’s a lovely Saturday, and Eric is packing boxes, loading the moving van, and cleaning -- not what I had in mind for how we’d spend his 33rd birthday.

It goes to show you how selfless this guy is, always thinking about his family first, not at all phased by the fact that he could have been relaxing with a cappuccino and a piece of carrot cake right now.

Happy birthday, Eric. We can start the celebration by looking out at the sea from our new balcony tonight! I love you.

Almost a Triptych

It’s moving day (1 of 2)! I’ll miss taking walks in our neighborhood.

The Highs and Lows of Motherhood

Almost eleven weeks have passed since my initiation into Motherhood. I’ve never in my life experienced such dramatic highs and lows -- one moment I’m confident, the next I’m confused; one moment I’m thrilled, the next I’m deflated; one moment I feel like Mother of the Year, and the next moment I’m a failure. The only constant? Exhaustion.

This is really the hardest thing I’ve ever done. So hard that I don’t even have the energy to explain how or why it’s so hard. It just is. Take my word for it.

Yet, every time I ask myself if I’m happy we finally did this, if I’m happy we finally became parents... I’m not only happy, I actually want more. More children, more... exhaustion? Well, no, nobody wants more exhaustion, but now I understand the secret about Motherhood:

it’s worth it.

Somehow, it really is.

Freaky Eggplant

Looks nasters; tastes great.

Red Petals

I Hate Moving

But we’re doing it anyway!

Yes, it’s true. Even though we weren’t planning to move out of our place, we saw an available apartment last week that just took our breath away. It’s a three-minute walk to Eric’s office, has a second bedroom that’s large enough to be both a baby room AND a guest room, has an open floor plan and two balconies, is perfectly sunlit, and has an amazing view of Haifa Bay.

I’m really sad to leave our current apartment. For one thing, we’ve spent time and money getting it to look nice. Second, we’ve gotten to know our neighbors. Third, I’ve grown attached to our posh neighborhood, where we can walk to fancy shops and restaurants and intermix with fancy Israelis.

Still, I think we’ve made the right choice. I went to the new apartment this afternoon, and being there felt so good that I ended up spending two full hours there. Two full hours, just staring at the sea.

We’ll probably move our stuff this coming weekend. I hate to spend Eric’s birthday moving, but we’re anxious to get it done with, so I’m leaving it up to him to decide.

Oh, and since we’re leaving this fully-furnished apartment for another fully-furnished one, I will probably insist on buying stuff to match the grass-green couches (see below).

On a Sherut, 67 Days Old

Traveling down Moriah Avenue last week. (There’s nothing very special about this video, but I thought you might enjoy a glimpse of life in Israel.)

The Birds

ON THE PHONE WITH ERIC, 11:08 AM:

Me: We’re stranded at home!
Eric: What do you mean?
M: There’s a pigeon stuck in the stairwell! Every time I open the door to leave, he swoops toward us, frantically flapping his wings!
E: So?
M: So, it’s like Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds!
E: Well, no, that was hundreds of birds. This is just one.
M: Still!
E: This is what I want you to do. Put Kamyar down, and then go out to the stairwell and open the window so the pigeon can escape.
M: But --
E: It’s going to be fine. Just don’t take Kamyar with you, okay?
M: Oh, alright.

ON THE PHONE WITH ERIC, 11:17 AM:

M: We survived!
E: That’s g --
M: But BARELY.
E: Mooj --
M: It was so scary! I did what you said: put the baby down, then went out to the stairwell -- but there was no pigeon in sight! I was so relieved. So I went back inside, picked up Kamyar, and we went out the door. Then just as we turn the corner, I see the pigeon WAITING FOR US downstairs. He swooped right at us, flapping away!
E: What did you do?
M: I screamed the whole way out of the building.
E: You did?
M: Yup.
E: And did you open the window so the bird could escape?
M: Um, no.
E: You do realize the bird will still be there when you come home.
M: Oh... Then I’m staying out. We’ll come home together later.

COMING HOME WITH ERIC, 8:58 PM:

M: Do you see all those feathers on the stairs?
E: Whoa.
M: That’s from when the pigeon attacked us.
E: Do you think he’s still here?
M: No way. He must’ve found a way out b -- OH MY GOD. HE’S RIGHT THERE.
E: Where?
M: In front of our door. He’s waiting for us!
E: Hm...
M: I’m outta here. (Running down stairs.)
E: Give me your purse. I might need it.
M: Oh man. (Stopping to hand purse over.)
E: Turn on the light, too.
M: Eric, BE CAREFUL.
E: (Walks up stairs courageously. A moment later: scary flapping and pounding noises.)
M: ERIC?!?
E: It’s okay! Come up!
M: He’s gone?
E: Yup!
M: How do you know for sure?
E: He went out the window.
M: Um, yeah. So HOW DO YOU KNOW FOR SURE?

Eric’s Post-Baby Vocabulary

Perhaps it’s sleep deprivation. Or creativity. Whatever it is, Eric’s choice of words when referring to baby equipment makes me laugh every time.

“cage” = crib
“cart” = stroller
“electric chair” = bouncy chair
“plug” = pacifier

Example: “Should we put the baby in the cage or the electric chair?”

Wisps

I think everyone in Haifa was out taking pictures of the sky yesterday.

Carmel Hospital Lookout

Mr. Bean Beauty Salon

I can’t believe I didn’t take a photo of Mr. Bean Beauty Salon (yes, as in Rowan Atkinson’s Mr. Bean; slow-witted, childish, tweed-jacket wearing Mr. Bean; can’t-figure-out-why-anyone-would-name-a-beauty-salon-after-him Mr. Bean) before it shut down.

People in Our Neighborhood

- The owner of the local dry cleaner still insists on speaking to me in English, even though I try to do the whole transaction/conversation in Hebrew.

- Every time I go to the convenience store for a single lemon, the cashier laughs and tells me to just take it.

- The ladies of the fancy boutique down the street (where everything is sequined or bejeweled and costs way too much for me to even set foot in the store) sit outside and smoke cigarettes all day. When Kamyar and I walk by, they smile at us in a “How cute!” sort of way. It makes me feel like the poster girl for new moms.

- The guy at our favorite falafel stand knows us so well that he asks how my mother is doing.

- People are constantly mentioning how miraculous it is that I lost all the pregnancy weight so quickly. The baker next door said, “Wow! You’re like a snake who swallowed an egg!” And then he let me have a piece of chocolate bread.

- I haven’t seen Catman in a while, but we still hear him at night, yelling at objects in the street.

On the Table at RennE

Kamyar, Reza, and Victor before the food arrived.

Thank You, Alenbi Restaurant

Anyone who puts french fries inside a kabab sandwich is my hero.

Just Parachuted In