Walking the Wall

My daughter took us to see the sights in downtown Berlin. For the most part it is a modern European city. A few interesting looking buildings here and there, a beautiful city gate, and the remnants of the infamous Berlin Wall.

We walked along the wall for a few miles, and thought about the people who woke up one morning to find it there.

It was a wall built, not to keep people out, but to keep people in.
To keep them from knowing what was happening across the street and throughout the world.

It was a day for deep thought.

Freedom to come and go. Freedom to know what is happening. Freedom to think and act. Freedom to meet with family who live down the street, on the other side of the wall.

Thankful for the freedom to walk along the wall on the east side, for me and all people, on a warm winter day.

Poor Pablo

Traveling is always an adventure. Add to that traveling with the Flanabrood and you get high adventure. Last week my daughter and her family were traveling by plane from Utah to California and back again. Somehow they missed their 7 am return flight. The next flight out was 12 hours later. Everyone in their group of 11 was working on only 4 hours sleep, the rental car had already been turned in and they had given up their hotel rooms. There were 7 children 8 and under on the trip. They were stranded at LAX.

Yesterday I met up with them in Baltimore. My flight landed 20 minutes before theirs in a different part of the airport. I went and waited for the bag that had the car seats I brought. Strapped them to my carry-on and wandered the airport to find their concourse. Soon all of us were together and we headed to baggage claim for the mountain of luggage and baby gear they checked--more car seats, a double stroller and I don't know how many bags. It was a funny sight to see the two little ones strapped to their parents carry-ons still sitting in their car seats. When you travel with this many little ones you do what ever works.

We got the luggage and put the pile on the curb then waited for the shuttle to the car rental depot. We load all of the children and the mountain of bags onto the shuttle. Get to the depot and unload the children and the mountain of bags onto the curb again. After 4 attempts they finally find the rental companies contracted for the two cars we needed, all the while I am trying to keep the little ones entertained on the curb while keeping watch over the mountain of bags and car seats we have assembled. Eventually we are given the two cars and piece by piece we load the luggage into the two cars, strap in the 4 car seats, load up the children and head out.

After a quick stop to feed the hungry children we finally head to the hotel only to find that they have no record of the reservation and the hotel is full. So are all of the other hotels in the area. After about an hour we find a vacancy and head out. Now it is nearing 10 pm. I landed at 4pm.

We take the children up to the room and try to figure out how to make beds for the 8 of us with the two queens and a sofa bed the room has to offer. No porta crib, but we do have a chair and an ottoman--we will manage. We bathe the children, make the beds and my son in law carries up the bags and puts them in the room one by one--that huge mountain of bags. We start looking through the bags to find pjs and undies for the freshly bathed little ones and my son in law asks "why do we have my brothers clothes in here?"

WHAT???

He looks closer at the bag and realizes that accidentally, while loading up the mountain of bags we brought, we picked up an extra bag. Poor Pablo. He is naked in Baltimore and we were lugging around extra baggage that we did not need. We call the airline to let them know, say our family prayer and ask a blessing on poor naked Pablo.

Note to self: Black bags look the same, check the name tag.

First Born

Thirty six years ago--2 days after I left my teens--I became a mother, a career to last the rest of my life. My first born, a daughter, was born on a Saturday afternoon in Southern California. My husband and I were ecstatic. She was beautiful and perfect and changed our lives forever.

When she was little she could not manage dirt. Just a spot of grime and the clothes had to be changed. When she was a teenager she became the self appointed 'fashion police' of the whole household. With her own sense of style she would regularly paint her fingernails each a different color and her signature outfit was a pair of bermudas with patterned tights.

In her twenties she ventured across Europe and Scandinavia with a girlfriend, sleeping who knows where. She has always had a sense of adventure, then she met Sean and her adventure really took off. Now she has 4 beautiful daughters and a son of her own. There is always something happening that keeps their place hopping. Active, curious children exploring and creating chaos and joy is the norm of the day.

Shawna is a contented mother, patient and gentle with the antics of her brood. She travels regularly with all of the little ones and does it with style. Last fall, when she was 8 months pregnant, she came on a 24 hour flight, by herself, with her 4 little ones. She managed well and I was proud of her.

Together, Sean and Shawna live an amazing life filled with as much as they can handle. There is never a dull moment in the Flanabode as they go about their Flanaventures.

Thank you Shawna, for the richness you have added to my life. Happy Birthday Sweetheart.

Tooth Ache

I have a problem tooth. It resides on the same side of my body as the problem shoulder and problem foot--The Left Side--That is reason enough to remember that choosing the right is probably a better way to go.

Over the weekend the tooth started acting up again. Didn't it know I have a busy week. I am going to Azerbaijan to visit grandkids and all systems must be fully functioning--after all, it takes 24 hours of travel. I know I shouldn't complain. My daughter has done it several times with 4 and 5 children. The last time she came she was 8 months pregnant traveling alone with 4 children 8 and under. She is a wonderful wife who lives where her honey has work and a good mother to attempt the adventure. I know, I'm a whoose.

Got in to see my friend the dentist this morning and he says those dreaded words "root canal". So I go to the store to pick up a few things Shawna needs me to bring like baby food, Flintstone vitamins, goo gone, a hair dryer--dual wattage--and a TV antenna before I head to the second dentist for a root canal. Isn't that what everybody does when they are planning a trip out of the country tomorrow to the luxury vacation spot of Baku, Azerbaijan??

Wish me luck