youth and wisdom

Amidst our recent travels, we took a pause to celebrate Munchkin’s ninth birthday last month. Credit to the little man for wanting a low-key affair: a pool party with his friends at our condominium and a piñata were his only requests — a welcome contrast to the elaborate pre-party planning wishlist Junebug is already compiling many months ahead of her next birthday.

five for fighting

Like other kids with summer birthdays, Junebug naturally gets the fuzzy end of the lollipop, feting her classmates’ birthdays throughout the school year only to miss out on a celebration of her own when school lets out for the summer. Our frequent moves, which tend to fall during the summer months, add an additional element of disruption, forcing us to get creative at times in rustling up friends for Junebug to play with at her birthday parties.

party of the decade

We’ve been talking about this party for months, planning for it long before we had even started planning for our departure from Manila. “This will be my second birthday!” Junebug — who just turned four — would exclaim several times per day, her voice tinkling with excitement. Clearly, she had no recollection of her first two revolutions around the sun, but she did recall quite vividly her previous birthday and she couldn’t wait to celebrate again. It’s quite possible that more forethought and planning went into organizing this birthday party than our wedding, especially because Junebug wanted to be involved in the planning.

at sixes and sevens

Each time a milestone passes, it offers a brief but pointed reminder of our mortality and the all-too rapid passage of time. We had two this month: the ninth anniversary of the day we snuck out on an extended lunch break to get married in a Chicago courthouse and our son’s sixth birthday.

‘tis the season

The holiday season finds us on the road, celebrating Christmas with our hosts, a travel menorah in our luggage.

parting shots

From an early age, Munchkin exhibited a keen curiosity for photography – an interest we have nurtured, especially because it kept him engaged and occupied during our travels. Although he sometimes treated the camera as more of a handheld video game, he managed to produce quite a number of interesting shots on our trips to South Africa and Europe. It was also fascinating to see the things that attracted his attention closer to home during the year that we spent in the States.

the big one

Tomorrow we’ll hit the road again, but tonight – our last in Salt Lake City – we’ll be celebrating Junebug’s first birthday in the company of our friends. The date snuck up on us somewhat, as we have been wrapped up with transitions and trip planning the last month or so.

not so little anymore

The biggest downside to D’s most recent South Africa trip was that he was away for Munchkin’s fourth birthday. D made it back for the party, but could not accompany the little man to school to mark his special day with his classmates. The little man, meanwhile, has quietly grown up quite a bit – especially over the last several months.

festivals of light

Part of the joy of living overseas is not only sharing our traditions with others, but also partaking in myriad cultural celebrations that are new to us.

far from the madding crowd

If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again. And if the source of your failure is your utter inability to sway your three-year-old towards a particular course of action, then best of luck to you; we empathize completely!