Tuesday, September 29, 2009

being here

friends, big and small

Zoralee loves the window. She watches cars, bikers, and joggers go by, the two dogs next door, and the schoolchildren on the playground at recess. Right now she’s watching a landscape crew replace our fence. My sister made mention that this was a happy thought, Zoralee being entertained by the goings on outside, but also sad to think that her previous window experiences were so measly – a great big meadow of very little excitement.

Our rhythms here are already so different. No chickens, no horses, no wild turkeys or deer roaming through each day. No animal life, per say, to derive context from. We can only see a patch of sky, instead of the weather coming from miles away. It's ironic, since we're in Alaska, the last frontier, but we live downtown in Alaska's largest city, something we always thought would be fun to do. We can see the wilderness, to be sure. The mountains are already covered in snow, tall and wild. But at our house, we hear traffic, the voices of walking companions, and every couple of hours, the screams of playing, teasing, energetic children. We are loving to see our family and long time friends again.

Our closest neighbors are a couple that Jason went to school with before. They’ve already given us some carrots, squash, and potatoes from their greenhouse! Our kitchen window looks directly into theirs. Like the guy said, at first it’ll be awkward catching each other’s eyes, but, we’ll just waive and go about things, and pretty soon we won’t even think about it. Zoralee, in fact, has already waived at them. Jason feels he has to throw on a shirt to get a snack though, and I’ll have to be cognoscente of where in the house I am talking to myself; they’re close enough to know I’m not wearing a Bluetooth. Gets you remembering how funny it is that we all live in these house bubbles, peeking into each other’s lives through neat, silent, two by three feet squares.

6 comments:

Christi said...

I missed you!!

So glad you are there safely and excited to see your journey continue.

Rachel @ Lautaret Bohemiet said...

Haha! The pictures with the Getts ARE priceless. It's weird seeing them as the "big girls" now when last time I saw them, Chloe was smaller than Zor. Time flies, eh?

And for some reason, the pic of Zor in the window STILL makes me feel really sad! It's not really a SAD sad, but more of a melonchic sad, like she's reaching for something she can't have. I'll have to think on it some more.

And damn, Hay's babe is real cute. He's so pudgy and round. Weird seeing Kev with a kido.

Will you be posting some more videos soon? I don't want to complain, because you did REAL GOOD today! But man, a video would be nice too. The ones on the camera phone are awesome, but so tiny.

Rachel @ Lautaret Bohemiet said...

And man, stripes are IN this season.

Rachel @ Lautaret Bohemiet said...

And I mean Lillian. Lillian was Zor's age last time I saw them. Chloe was like... 3.

Unknown said...

I love all the pictures of Z with her new friends! You can tell she enjoys it. It's weird that she had SO much adult interaction in Montana, but usually wasn't around other babies too much. What did she think of Chloe and Lillian's red hair?

Rachel, I know what you mean about the window feeling. It reminds me of pictures of little kids looking longingly out a window, not being allowed to join in the play. But in this case, all those people are there for Z's entertainment so it's not sad at all!! She's safe and happy inside, with a clear view of the world out there.

It's funny that you guys went from windows with no curtains here because there are no close neighbors to look in, to neighbors 2 feet away there. It sounds fun though, and I know you're enjoying reconnecting with everyone.

Anonymous said...

okay so Chloe loves the picture of Zoralee driving the best...we know she loves ALL the pictures but that is her favorite and she is dictating to me as I type!