Opals

The Christmas I was 6, I got an opal ring.  I know it was the last present I opened that Christmas morning... I remember finding the small box under the tree, and I said, "oh, this is small, so it probably isn't that important."  My mom said something like "sometimes good things come in small packages."

She was right.  I opened the box, and, to my surprise, there was a ring inside.  An opal and gold ring.  I instantly loved it.  It was absolutely perfect for me then, completely my taste then (and now, too...).

itThe ring had 6 opals with formed the shape of flowers.  I still have that ring in the jewelry box where I keep jewelry from the past.  Over the years, of course I've had to get it sized as I grew from a small child to a teenager and then an adult.  I put the ring on the other day, and I remembered what it was like to see it for the first time.

Why is this relevant?  Well, Ethiopia is known for its opals along with its coffee.  I don't know...  Of all the rings my mom could have possibly found for me for when I was a six-year-old, she picked one with stones that came from Ethiopia...  The country that years later would the birth place of my children.

I think it is amazing how in life everything fits into place and is connected in some way or another.

Going "Up North"

This summer, we're heading "Up North" to Wisconsin with my parents, their dog, my two brothers, and my sister-in-law.  Actually, my brother and his wife will be there mainly the second week of my parents' trip, so we'll probably only be with them a few days.

I'm looking forward to it.  We haven't been up since E came home, actually not since R was about 7 or 8 months old.  It's about time.

In truth, I used to hate spending a few weeks in the summer in Wisconsin.  I thought it was boring, I didn't like cabins, and I was always terrified that a bear would come out of the woods and eat me.  (Seriously, I'm terrified of bears.)

But, well, that's changed over the years.  Now, I love the peacefulness of it.  I love eating pasties for lunch at the quaint little diner in the tiny town where we've stayed the past few times.  I love the unique culture of the northern part of that northern state.  I love stopping on the way home at our favorite cheese place and bringing a bit of Wisconsin home with us.  While I'm still not a fan of antiquing, I do enjoy spending time driving from my mom's favorite shop to the next through the northern "highways" that are identified by letters instead of numbers.

I love, too, our pilgrimages back to my grandmother's family's property.  Sorry Wisconsin power (whatever it is called), we do sneak on the land when we go back there.  While the main house is pretty run down, the bunkhouse floor is rotting away, and all that is left of the cottage home is its stone chimney (fire years ago), I can still image what it must have been like to spend all summer up there when my mom and her siblings were little.

I will say that I did have one of my most awkward transracial adoption moments Up North.  A, R, my mom, and I were traveling up to the cabin.  My dad and my brother had to wait and come up a couple days later...  Anyway, we stopped at a Taco Bell about 2 hours south of our destination.  Like I said, R was about 7 or 8 months old, and she needed a break and a diaper change.  When we walked into the restaurant, everyone and I mean EVERYONE stopped and stared at the white couple and the grandmother with the tiny black baby.  It was soooo uncomfortable.  I mean, like, the conversations in the place stopped.  Even the workers were staring.  Awkward...

But, despite that, going Up North is something we're all looking forward to.  Just one more reason to look forward to summer!!