Finally! Sorry for the delay (I had transferred these to an external drive for safe keeping!)!!And Happy Halloween!

Hi all!

I need to go into more detail about our trip to Wolfe Island in July. We arrived on Wed afternoon to Cape Vincent. The  fields of windmills on the island can be seen across the water. Once we got to the island, the highway that leads to the village goes by the VanHals so we stopped in to see if they were home to say hi – luckily they were and it was great to see them. When we got to the hotel, I got to try out the new toy my dad got for me – a chair at the bottom of the stairs that rides on rails to the top. A little scary but it did the job just fine. They made lots of modifications to the apartment so I could be comfortable there – hardwood floors, roll-in shower. Really great. The next day was dad’s 70th birthday – in typical form, he was running all around so we didn’t get to see him too much until he slowed down a little later in the evening! The next day, Cathy Amara and her daughter Ruby came to spend the day with us. Cathy and I used to play soccer together in Seattle and were both post-docs in different labs at the UW. Ruby is adorable and they are happily living in Toronto (her parents live in Kingston which is the city across from Wolfe Island) where Cathy is faculty at Uof T.  The kids had a great time together and of course Jani enjoyed playing with them and earned the title “uncle Jani” from Ruby.  Jani stayed on the couch and late that night, Khaled and family arrived.

The next day the kids played and the adults talked. It was great to have everyone together.  That afternoon, The Soules came in and hung out with us for a few hours. It was great to see Dianne and Geoff and Andrew + families.  Sunday we went to Big Sandy Bay beach. On the way, we stopped at Jen and Brad who are expecting their first child – so cool!!  In the parking lot, we ran into Muffy and her kids Paige and Tate. They are teenagers now. Insane. They all looked and sounded great. Khaled pushed Encsi and I (she sat on my lap) all the way to the beach – no small feat! Lori and Mandy and some other spent the day at the beach with us. The kids had a blast, even with the massive seaweed! It was a fun time and I enjoyed my primier chaise lounge seating while the others “roughed in with their towels on the sand .

So I didn’t get to see nearly all the people I needed and wanted to thank in person. The silent auction party that Mandy, her mom, and Lori organized for me generated proceeds that covered about 40% of the cost of my van which is paid for completely. Given the current economic climate, this is a luxury many cannot afford. Especially considering the tenuous nature of my health, it is a massive benefit because even though I can transfer to a regular car seat, I cannot drive unless the car is modified and I cannot get my chair into the car alone (and it isn’t a collapsible chair). So this vehicle is extremely valuable to me and my function as a mother of 2 small kids. And by the way, the kids love going for rides with mommy in the van. Yesterday (most of us family not feeling 100% because of colds and cold weather outside) I took the kids for a little ride through town to get out of the house (our “little” house is not barn for them to thrash about wildly and they go pretty stir crazy in a short time!) and they ALWAYS say how much they love going with mommy in the van. I love my babies so very much and it means alot to me to be able to move around with them.  I know that once they start getting involved in stuff, I will be able to take them places and the more involved I am with them the happier I am!

So the plan was for Jani and I to take Kaden and Kyan home with us for a week but we all awoke in the morning and poor little Kyan had a fever so the four of us began our journey home. It was a good trip. Daddy took care of everything as usual. Mission completely safely.

September 11th was Rowan’s 6th birthday. My little nugget is a boy now. A first grader into Star Wars, guns, gladiators, X-men, any superhero you want to name,….a boy. But my boy still crawled into my lap today for hugs. Ah…….. His birthday was a fun boys party – horsing around, showing his guests the bow and arrow he brought back from Hungary, and serving them carrot cake (I swear that is what he chose. Ask me about celebrating his first birthday in Houston some time.) It was a nice afternoon with the wonderful people who came to celebrate with us.

OK next mission: Girish and Brenda’s wedding in Cabo which was postponed from May 23 to October 10 because of the swine flu…..

Have wheelchair, can fly!. Once we got past the check in where I realized when I scanned my passport and saw “Ismail” on the screen that I forgot I have not yet changed my passport to reflect the addition of my married name (but lucky had my driver’s licence with me! ask me about our trip to Tahiti in 2004 sometime), we flew from RDU to Dallas (DFW). Nuts and bolt: there is a special chair they have that can fit into the isle so I transfer to it just at the end of the airwalk and they strap me in and with one person in front and one at the back, they propel me to row #7 – the bulkhead row – and from that I trasfer to the airline seat. My chair goes in the belley with the plane and once everyone is off at our destination, they bring one of the funky narrow chairs and reverse the process. There, while on the airwalk in Dallas waiting to board to Cabo (SJD), Jani heard some others talking and the name “Girish” so we discovered that they were family (uncle and grandpa – tell you more about him later) coming from India for the wedding. Greeted by massive love as soon as the cab pulled up -Khaled and Mervie, Neil (groom’s brother) and their parents Suresh and Shoba (spectacular people – more on them later too). So we sat on the patio and chatted until 2am or so….so begins the extended celebration weekend!

The next day was gorgeous and so we joined Khaled and Mervie for breakfast…and what breakie would be complete without mimosa (those who know me know my penchant for this bevvie…and ask me the story about my family visiting us in Tx for Christmas 2004 somtime!)?!?!? So then we went down to the lounge chairs by the infinity pool. Ahh….even though I can’t smell, I FELT the ocean air and heard the waves crashing on the beach.

Lots of people came by to talk with us through the course of the day and it was lovely to see all these great people and spend such nice time with them in the gorgeous surroundings. That evening was the Sangeet, an Indian tradition for acquainting the wedding guests and some traditional Indian dance. The entrance was lined with a Hispanic band playing Mexican music while people mingled and chatted. The traditional Indian garb worn by the women was fantastically ornate and even the men looked pretty! We got to meet the lovely couple Elaine and Tony Malcoun. Tony is the gentleman who brought my brother in to join his group which he enjoys very much. Really lovely people. I say this over and over but truly, such an incredible range of equisitely charismatic, intelligent, and superbly warm-hearted people.  After dinner, Girish’s mom Shoba performed one of these, a young cousin another, and I think another relative did the third. They were really quite lovely. There was also an interesting show done by a yoing man and woman kind of in the distance – a flaming baton twirling + hoola hoop dance routine. Pretty cool!

So a funny story about Jani: the whole day we were at the pool and for a bit we went down to the beach (4 men took the corners of a lounge chair to get me there) under a palapa. That evening at the party, everyone was cleaned up and dressed up – mostly Indian chic. Haseena offered to come get a place at a table for us and apparently went to get started, but Jani and I were looking for Khaled and Merv and place where we could all be together. Anyway, Jani was talking about it later in the manner that Haseena was putting unexpected undue effort into it and didn’t even realize that Haseena was one of the people who had spent the day at the pool with us! He didn’t recognize her all dressed up! He didn’t live that down for the rest of the trip! She is little but she is a force!

The next day was very similar to the previous in terms of the weather. between Jani and my brother, they chucked me into the pool and there was a bench along the side for me to chill and have my beverage (2 for one poolside? oh, alright). The night was a Fiesta dinner outside by the water was lovely too. It was a pretty casual affair and people mingled and chatted more over the background of waves crashing on the beach. At 10pm the “younger” crowd (I think I just qualify but Jani, at 40, is pushing it a bit!), went to the lobby and crowded onto a bus. At the end of the journey, a really cool beach party was going on, organized by the groom’s brother Neil and sister-in-law Sajel. There were couches and table all around but it was on the beach. So Jani picked me up out of my chair and carried me about 200 yards through the crowd to one of the couches. And there I sat for the rest of the evening and people came and went and the space on either side of me was vacated. Fun. I didn’t miss going to the bar to join in the tequila shots I will tell you that (can’t drink that stuff since college!). The first person to talk to me was a nice young man who was a semi-pro soccer player (Pete? I don’t remember all the details, just that we were talking about soccer vs. football and baseball) and his friend Billy. Then Haseena, Merv, Kal, Lou, Neil, Sajel, and Sharon were around for a while (you know Jani – whole slew of interesting new people to talk to and drinks!?! I didnt’ see him more than necessary!). Then Oscar one of the wedding planners came and knelt on the sand next to me and talked for a while. Sweet young man.  There is another story there too it just depends on who you ask (Haseena, Merv, or Jani) as to which perspective you get! Anyway, another night ending at 4am.

So the next morning the breakfast nearly missed us but Jani skedaddled just in time to get some stuff for us. And then we headed to the pool! We hung out there for a little while but since the wedding was at 5pm, we wanted to make sure we were rested and ready. The wedding was on the beach and there was a terrace area I could see it from. Since they had speakers, I could mostly hear everything. Afterwards, I had a great chat with Elaine about everything from leaving the kids behind for the first time, to the Csardas (wedding dance in Hungary), to traditional Lebanese quisine (getting sick of hummus everyday versus the veriety in Indian quisine). Then I talked with Anu who presided over the wedding. I told most of it sounded loevly – what I could her that is and so she gave me a personal, word-for-word recount of everything she said. Apparently she doesn’t know Spanish but memorized the tranlations and recited them as she went along so that Brenda’s family could follow allow. When I went to Neil and Sajel’s wedding, I remember there was a ritual where they went a round a fire seven times. They did the same thing (athough it was a candle) and I asked her what each circle meant. So here is the run down: The whole thing is called the Sagtapadi – a ceremony to get validity for the occassion and sanctify the union. 1:for food, 2: for strength, 3: for prosperity, 4: for happiness, 5: progeny, 6: auspcious days, 7: friendship. So the pictures below are an amalgamation of highlights from the wedding and Rowan’s birthday party. I have lots from our trip but I have to work backwards to sort through them still!

There is so much more to tell about the wedding – several relatives from the wedding party from India approached me and said that athey had heard wonderful stories about us and came to meet us and introduce themselves.  Girish’s lovely uncle Prabat invited us to be his guests if we come to visit India. Sweet Grandpa Ram, 86 years old flew fom India-London, NY, Dallas, Cabo alone and back, took my hand and said “I will give you India” if you come. Everyone was just so kind. Hessina insisted many times that we come visit her in India. If you knew these people and what their lives are like, you would understand the depth of meaning in their words.  It was a tough trip in many respects but definitely worth it and I hope it was too taxing on those around me. I think it was for Jani even though he really enjoyed himself. He didn’t say but he certainly would never complain. 

So we are working on plans for the next couple of trips – need to go to Czech Rep and Hungary next year and then I’m thinking about telling Granpa Ram that we’ll come and celebrate his 90th birthday with him!! For now though Halloween, which is my favorite holiday, and 2 people are in my mind – Mervie will be 34 on Thursday 10/22 and Khaled next Sunday 10/31. So zap some text messages if you have their numbers! We still keep exchanging messages about how great it was to be in Cabo together!

OK that is it for this entry.  Not to end on a sour note but I will be thinking about all of you as I work through tomorrow – the second anniversary of the accident.