740. feeling better in time for Christmas week 741. a napping house and hot tea 742. new books to read to the kids 743. a chill in the air 744. my grandfather is feeling better 745. David did a week’s worth of grocery shopping yesterday 746. Bamburies, a dream of a meat shop where we can even buy prosciutto 746. cooking in my kitchen with the windows wide open 747. exchanging recipes with friends 748. friends who inspire me to be creative with my kids 749. coming up with a plan to help fill our days 750.  endless good ideas on the internet 751. Judah searching out letters and trying to…

711. Mom and Dad Gentino in our South Asia world 712. Suitcases full of books and Christmas presents 713. Chocolate chips and maple syrup and Starbucks Thanksgiving blend 714. Our homey apartment 715. Space to breathe 716. The wonder of real bathtubs and a real oven 717. A chance to appreciate things I never thought to appreciate before 718. Trading Hindu temple music for the Muslim call to prayer 719. Lilly, who eases my load 720. Our tilty, patchy fake Christmas tree 721. Christmas music on Grooveshark.com 722. Kurta shopping on Commercial Street with Linda 723. Lalbagh Botanical Gardens . . . an oasis of green 724. My two new…

690. two mornings out this week and time alone to sit and breathe, thanks to my mom 691. a stack of new books to read 692. Barbara Kingsolver and Wendell Berry: just exquisite 693. treats brought from home … Skittles, M&M’s, brown sugar, vanilla extract, Goldfish, Seattle’s Best coffee, Sunmaid raisins … 694. dear friends who sent cards and letters and gifts for Judah and Amelie 695. showing my mom around our neighborhood 696. watching my mom chat and laugh and get to know my friends 697. Elizabeth Gaskell movie marathons every night this week while David’s out of town 698. David got to go to Turkey! 699.  and he’s…

673. piling in the car for a family trip to the doctor 674. Judah “taking the break of school” to be with us today 675. toys and cartoons in the hospital waiting room 676. a new doctor for me to try 677. McDonald’s right next to the hospital: sitting eating chicken nuggets and fries in the cool breeze of the patio 678. visits from Maggie and Colleen and Deepakshi which brighten my day; their offerings of red flowers and cookies and dinner 679. finishing Bleak House on my Kindle and wanting to start at the beginning again 680. Charles Dickens, whom I never get tired of 681. books to keep me…

654. the happy shrieks of neighbor children playing below my bedroom window 655. South Asian-accented English 656. catching small hints of that accent in Judah’s speech 657. Ramesh and Maria came the other day with a stack of dvds to loan, and took Judah and Amelie to the park 658.  iron-rich food brought from Colleen and Maggie . . . veggie soup, beef stew, whole heads of broccoli 659. Maggie laid beside me in bed when I couldn’t move or open my eyes, talked to me, gave me a foot massage to ease the anxiety 660. Keli’s medical advice and encouragement all the way from Texas 661. voices of my…

our car! a carseat for Amie, borrowed from friends it is so much less exhausting it is to go get groceries with our own car David successfully driving a stick-shift, on the left side, in South Asian traffic two swims in the pool already this week Amie is tall enough to stand in the kiddie pool now afternoon iced coffee with maple syrup Hannah Coulter and Jayber Crow, returning to dear, dear friends Amie words: “Daggy” (Daddy), “choc-a” (chocolate), “sam-itch” (sandwich), “cock-a-doo” (cock-a-doodle-doo), Mahfa (Martha), “Sicko-ween” (Lightening McQueen) Judah’s random outbursts: “I love Kung-Fuuuuuuuuu!” a Skype date with Heather dreaming and planning with David, knowing that we will face the future together…