Life Updates

Hair

Life has been SO busy. I’ve barely had time to do my hair. I’ve only had time for wash and bunning. My ends feel really moisturized and healthy from all the bunning.I did a flexi-rod set the other day that is not even worth photographing, what a waste of time, no volume or hold. Guess, I’ll be bunning it again this week. I feel like I’m losing some volume from the length, so am thinking about getting a shape-up this winter.

For the holidays, we’ll head back to Boston. I’m really looking forward to going back to the States for winter break, to see family and friends. Also, I’m excited to get my hair done. I’ve already booked an appointment with the stylist I usually go back to. Part of me wants to color my hair, although I probably won’t, since I’m already planning on having it flat-ironed while I’m there. I’m just really looking forward to someone else doing my hair. It’s grown a lot and wash sessions are a bit longer. My edges have finally started to grown in after all that postpartum shedding. However, they look strange, because the hair is really short and growing in, so is always really frizzy. I typically use gel to tame them.

Family

My little peanut is growing and developing at such a fast rate. Sometimes it feels like I blink an eye and things change. He took his first steps a couple of weeks ago. He isn’t fully walking, but occasionally he’ll muster up the nerve to stand up and take a few steps and then sit down. It’s so cute. His first steps he took towards me and said mama and then gave me a big hug. Yep, that little rugrat has my heart forever.
We’re in birthday planning mode now. I went back and forth for weeks trying to decide if I wanted to invite friends (Peanut’s baby friends and older friends). Finally, in the end I decided to have an intimate, cozy family party. I have a feeling we’ll have to entertain kids later on down the line and I really want this party to be a celebration for him. I’m afraid if I invite too many kids, we’ll be so worried about trying to make sure the kids aren’t bored that we’ll be too exhausted to capture the day and cherish it. There will be a couple of babies there, but again close family.

What did you do for your child’s first birthday?

Travel

My last post was on a short holiday in Italy.

I wanted to take you all with my on my trip to Italy, but our vacation rental didn’t have wifi. I’ll admit, it was actually a good thing. We traveled to the Mediterranean Sea to the Finale Ligure region in the northern part of Italy. What a beautiful area. The water was turquoise blue, the coastline jagged and wild and everyday was sunny and warm. The house we rented was literally right on the beach. Every morning we woke up and there was the ocean. We’d walk out to the water and relax on the beach everyday. Peanut loved it and he especially loved scouring the beach for rocks, who needs toys. He’s also obsessed with Italian food.

Peanut scouring the beach for rocks

A cup of pure chocolate, yes please!

In any case, our trip was mainly for rest and relaxation and that’s exactly what we did. We visited some lovely towns, strolled around, went to cathedrals and on some walks to historical and world heritage sites, ate lots of lovely focaccia (a specialty of the region). It was loads of fun and I’d definitely return to this region. During the off-season, however, as I’ve heard it’s busy and crowded during the summer. There’s something so calming about being on a beach vacation in the fall. It’s something I’ve enjoyed doing for quite some time.

Another highlight of the trip. While we were staying at this lovely rental during the low season. I noticed a man sleeping outside underneath a vacation house. The owners weren’t there as everything was boarded up. Probably belonged to people who live there a few weeks out of the year. In any case, we noticed the guy slept outside every night. I finally worked up the nerve to go down and talked to him. We figured he was hungry, cold and in need of resources, so gathered a little money, food and water and chatted with him for a little. He said his name was Jim-Jim and that he was from Ivory Coast. His family was separated and they’d all left IC for a better life. He had some family travel to Syria and he made his way up to Italy. He didn’t know what to do and was trying to figure out a way to find work and find a better life. This is the story of many immigrants, thinking the grass is greener, I’m sure. He found Italy cold and unwelcoming. He’s been harassed and told to go home. It’s frustrating for him, as those people are really out of touch with reality and don’t understand the complex nature of immigration and the countries the people flee.

His story warmed our hearts and brought me to tears. I wish we could have done more. All he could do was cry and apologize when we gave him the things we could offer. He said he felt ashamed and didn’t do anything to deserve it. I just explained we’re all brothers and sisters. One day, when he sees someone struggling, I’d hope he’d do the same. His face still haunts my memory. For each day of our trip that remained, we decided to take him things to help him out, blankets to keep warm, as he was sleeping outside on cold nights, hygiene products, pants and socks – he only owned shorts and half-socks (i.e. they only covered half of his feet), lots fruits and food that could keep without refrigeration like sardines, crackers, etc. Jim-Jim was writing a book in French when we came upon him. It was titled “Annoying Others” or something like that. I hope he keeps telling his story and let it be a companion that he takes along with him. He embarked on a dangerous and very long journey, to go to a country and culture that he didn’t know at all. In Western and developed cultures, we call these kind of people transplants, expats, backpackers etc. Jim-Jim felt like he was looked at as less than a mosquito. A parasitic insect, with the sole purpose of taking resources from others and invading their personal space. Of course the issues of immigration are really sensitive and really complex. I know Jim-Jim will continue living as an invisible person within the boundaries of Italy and he has been paid and will continue to be paid next to nothing to work for the next farmer that offers him a physically tough and difficult job. I know I couldn’t do a lot, so I chose to just try to show some compassion.

I want to be make sure I teach my son daily to never take his life from granted and never look down on anyone. I really want him to treat every walk of life with love and respect. I have no idea what it’s like to see genocide, bombings and raping, etc., right before my eyes. For this and much more, I have so much to be thankful and grateful for.

One day maybe I’ll see Jim-Jim’s story on the big screen or in a book, I have hope in my heart that he’ll find safety and normalcy some day.

How have you all been? Are things in your lives crazy this time of year as well?