The Gift of Forgiveness

~ theantelopediaries

There was a period where I dreaded Thanksgiving, the way I dreaded the last three Thanksgivings, and thought about how I could get away.  I had accumulated hurts that ran deeper with each passing year, topics I wrote about in a blog post here.  Thinking of how to avoid going to Thanksgiving dinner, I fantasized about the time I worked last year, but the reality is I don’t have a job right now.  Going away with my parents, with whom I re-united five months ago after a ten year hiatus, was a possibility, but being in a remote cabin with them for four days would have posed its own challenges. More →

Our New School

~ theantelopediaries
Old school parking lot.

Like a thief in the night, my daughter’s Russian school moved.  We knew a move was coming, but except for a street name, the new location was not revealed.  Then over the weekend, the director of the school sent an email with the new address effective that Monday

People were still going to the old location. More →

Gloominess on a Sunny Day

~ theantelopediaries

Today was a beautiful sunny day in what is normally a dreary period in the Pacific Northwest.  My 5 y.o. daughter didn’t see it that way initially.  Maybe because she wasn’t tall enough to see out the window.

“I’m tired of getting dressed.  I’m just so sick of everything,” she said in the bathroom this morning as I was getting myself ready.

“The day hasn’t started yet.  What are you so angry about?”

“Why do you say good morning?” More →

Displays of Affection I’m Proud to Share

~ theantelopediaries

My mother sent me this link from The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, to which she is a donator.  They take elephants from zoos and circuses and try to rehabilitate them in a more natural (and humane, or, in every positive sense, animal-ane) environment.  In this video, Sissy, the new elephant, is introduced to Minnie, Debbie, and Ronnie over a fence line.  Look how lovingly they interact with one other.  This beautiful video of elephants interacting with one another deeply touched me.

A Good Day

~ theantelopediaries

It was a good day today.  A very good day.

My almost 5 year old daughter met my mother for the first time last Saturday.  Today, she visited her house and met my step-father.  She behaved well, even though she was up since 6 am, and my parents and my husband and daughter enjoyed each other’s company.  After being “alone” for five years raising our daughter, it feels good to have another person help us on this journey.  Now, we can be like most other “normal” families. More →