28: Here We Go
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
On my birthday I slept in until 8:30. I woke up to flowers, hot coffee, and a fresh bowl of fruit. I had my favorite kind of morning: cleaning my room, listening to my favorite tunes, and playing with my kids. My favorite t-shirt that’s been lost in the abyss of our laundry, magically reappeared. I put it on, put Ravi down for his morning nap, and went over to the school office where parent teacher conferences were happening. We had an 80% turn out for report card day from what used to be 15-20%. Big brothers, sisters, grandparents, moms, aunts, uncles all came to talk report cards, education and making our children’s lives better. Go Kelly!!! Go teachers! I felt proud.
I came home for the start of an amazing birthday evening: momos and a dance party satsung. I was showered with birthday cards and presents, photos of my children, passion fruit, walnuts, snickers bars, a big Ganesh statue, and even a spa day! The kids' gift to me was choreographing a dance to one of my favorite Imagine Dragons songs. It was awesome and made me cry. I had to keep wiping away my tears on Ravi’s spit up cloth.
For whatever reason this was an emotional birthday for me. I burst into tears once in the office with Tope, our accountant, and board advisor for no reason at all. Just one of those moments of "I can’t believe all this!" Then I cried with Bhakta, sitting there in our living room talking about his toe and how much I love him. Then I cried during satsung when Kelly gave me a picture of Father Jack and all the family photos of my children since 2008. But the night ended with the fellows and me laughing late into the night playing “Things” and “Fun” and talking in funny accents together.
The thing I love about birthdays is that they make you feel like you get a fresh start. Namraj and I have the same birthday and he turned five yesterday! Five years old!!! Don’t you feel like he was just a baby!?!? Don’t you feel like I was just a baby!!?!!
I have big plans for 28. We have a big beautiful school to build for this ever growing family of ours, a vocational center to build for our teens as we prepare them to move into adulthood, a daycare for the babies, a medical clinic for the sick, a women’s center for empowering, a counseling center for listening and healing. There’s songs to sing and dance to, jokes to crack, meetings to problem solve in, a team to build, a computer screen to stare at with emails and excel spreadsheets, tears to cry, friends and family to see. There's solar panels to install, wells and water filters, animals and bees, and gardens, and trees. There's children to be loved, nurtured and mentored. There’s a world to help make more peaceful.
I want to be able to laugh at myself when I say I’m going to "give up caffeine and sugar" and then find myself at the breakfast table with nutella and a big cup of coffee. And laugh at myself when I say “no more babies!!!" give away all my baby stuff, and then find myself totally in love, enamored, and awake all night with a newborn who I can’t imagine my life without. I want to work hard each day, give it all I've got, and then sit at the dinner table or lay in bed, with the people I love, fill the well, talk it out, and then do it all over again. I want to be seen in my yoga pants and t-shirt playing on the floor with my children. I want a to do list that I slowly chip away at but never feel on top of. I want to ride my bicycle and take walks, drink more water, and read more books. I want to keep falling in love again and again and then be like, "REALLY there’s still room in there for more?"
I’m so grateful to each of you. You constantly shower my life, my children and this project with love and generosity and encouragement. I couldn’t do this without you and the biggest gift of all is having you by my side. We’re making the world better with each and every passing day. Thank you for the birthday wishes and continuing to dream with me. 28 here we go.