8

It's been awhile since my last entry. I guess motherhood has its way of consuming your time. Or, if you asked my husband, he would tell you that is Facebook. Admittedly, there is a bit of truth in that. I'm amazed at how in less than 20 years the Internet has completely changed the way people relate to eachother. More interesting is how Facebook has truly shortened the distance between friends and family. Especially family. I am connected to cousins I haven't seen or spoke to in more than 20 years and the interesting thing is how that gap in contact had no bearing on our familiarity. I guess there is something to be said about the thickness of blood.

To that end, last week was a terrific one. I reconnected with a high school friend and experienced that same familiarity. The amazing thing, 18 years or possibly more have passed since we last spoke and we picked right back up again. Not once did we venture to the tales of yesteryear but instead focused on our families and what was important in the now, not in the past or even the future but right there, in that very moment when we were reconnecting - Old friends.

I titled this post "8" because it is eight years today that I drove from New Jersey, through the Lincoln Tunnel, past the 2 WTC Plaza and onto the Grand Central when the sunny sky was cast with a dark and haunting shadow. When the smells of early fall were replaced with smoldering steel and when literally "in a New York minute" EVERYTHING changed. At the time, my life was filled with uncertainty and little responsibilty. Eight years later, i'm older, a little more knowledgable (yes, I purposely did not say "wiser") and in a place I never knew would exist for me. Amazing how every life event takes us to the next and that we truly are not measured by what happens to us but how we respond. I have experiences and Facebook to keep me connected :)

What Kind of World Do You Want....

I have thought about that Five for Fighting song a lot since Nico has come into the world. And, my thoughts have taken me to a lot of interesting places. It was a historic election year. The economy is in a state of....well, I will say a state and being at home the past 11 weeks with so much exposure to the media, it's hard for me to have the HOPE the Obama campaign and those who want to believe promise.

Today, I was in the waiting room of the clinic waiting for the results of a strep test. I had Nico on my lap and we were reading a book when a seven year old Vietnamese girl came over to "look at the baby." We played the game of "what's his name [Nico] what's your name [Hilary], how old is he [9 weeks] how old are you [7 years0...." and Hilary continued to tell me about her. She was at the doctor for an X-ray of her heart. She told me she has been in California and Las Vegas. That she "drove cars" in Las Vegas. Then she asked me if I had ever been to Vietnam. I answered "no, I have not." and she replied that she had been many times. She then offered that people "do not like Vietnamese people."

I thought about it long and hard as I wanted to offer a thoughtful and hopeful response, but I couldn't think of a quick response. Only, "WOW, would something like this ever come out of my 7 year old's mouth and if it did, why, how, what could he have possibly experienced in his short 7 years that would lead to a sentence like this.

I hope that when Nico is 7 he won't have reason to know "hate" the way this 7 year old Vietnamese girl does.