The Wisdom of the Ages

I had the most interesting conversation with Devon the other night.  I was putting her to bed and she asked me why some people believe Jesus is the son of God.  Nothing like a light conversation at bedtime, right?  I really do not know the answer to this, so I was forced to wing it.  If my answer offends anyone, my sincerest apologies.  We discussed how the Bible says God created people in His image, so some people might think that in that case God could be a father and have a son, like people do. I told her that some really wise rabbis thought that maybe it meant that we don't look like God (how could we when he is incorporeal?) but that being made in His image maybe meant we all could be like God by doing mitzvahs (good deeds, caring for others, helping people and the world and so on). If we do that, then we act in a manner that makes us God's helpers and maybe that means we are acting in His "image"..... She wanted to know if I was sitting on God when I sat on the floor (isn't he everywhere?)  We talked about how God has no body so no, I wouldn't be sitting on Him or walking on Him when I sit or walk.  We talked about how rabbis are really smart, and she paid me the lovely compliment of telling me that I'm really smart and I could be a rabbi.  I told her about our cousin, Marina, who just became a rabbi.  Her eyes got so big - she must be REALLY smart!  and somehow she started to realize that if Marina is her cousin, that makes her a real person AND a rabbi.  I told her that she was very smart, and she could be a rabbi if she wanted to be one. You could have read by the lightbulb that went on in her head.  It was such an interesting conversation to have with a seven year old and to see how her mind works.  We talked about how God's miracles and creations surround us daily and how most of the time we pay no attention to them.  Little things, like a beautiful day, or flowers blooming somewhere unexpected, kittens, or a phone call from someone you haven't spoken to in a while.  Like I said, not the normal bedtime conversation with a 7-year-old.

Devon and Aubrey are both my miracles, and daily reminders to me that things happen for a reason.  I want to believe that, but I would add the caveat that it's not all things that happen for a reason, just some things, and we may never know which things are which.  Who knows what stars aligned (or mis-aligned) to lead me to not getting married until almost 40, not being able to have kids of my own and adopting my two beautiful daughters?  I think about that, sometimes, and how I cannot imagine life without Aubrey and Devon - those two very specific people.  And the impact of our adopting them on the life of their birth mother and siblings - very different than what they expected, all because we wanted a more open adoption.  Now we have this convoluted extended family that few people understand but we really enjoy.  And Devon, well I frequently think back to her first month of life and how scary it was and how for such a long time we didn't know if she was going to live, how healthy she would be, what sort of brain function would she have....and she's so smart, so beautiful it's hard to remember just how sick she was.  Talk about a miracle.  Sometimes I wonder if naming her for my Great-Aunt Del had anything to do with her more than just survival.  She was an amazing woman, ahead of her time, and I think watched over and maybe called in favors for this sick little baby namesake.....but I will probably never know for sure.

Today started with miracle number one, Aubrey, with a family meeting at her summer school at 7:30. She's doing great in this program, and although she feels like she's not having a "summer" because we put her in this full day program, we see it having positive effects for her and she's not losing the progress she made this past year in her reading, etc.   I've been trying to make sure she gets to do fun stuff on the weekend and occasional evenings, so long as it doesn't run too late.  School is a half hour drive away and starts at 7:30, so she's got some early mornings these days.  She's been spending a lot of time at her best friend, Sierra's house, which she thoroughly enjoys - lots of animals for one thing. And she and Sierra are trying to setup their business - they breed geckos and lizards and sell the babies. I'm good with this so long as no reptiles ever come to my house.  And she's been working on getting the backyard ready to receive chickens, which may be this weekend.  She took me over to the friend's house where they currently live so I could "meet" them.  Unfortunately, it was raining at the time and boy were they bedraggled!  But she's sharing them with Devon, which is a good thing, although she will maintain real responsibility for their care and upkeep.  Keep your fingers crossed for us.

The day ended with Devon.  It was family night at Second Harvest Food Bank, so we picked up Devon's twin, Isabella, and off we went for a couple hours of volunteering.  It was crazy hot in the warehouse tonight.  We were sorting donations by type from small, banana boxes into huge bins.  Lots of walking back and forth and schlepping.  Devon and Isabella went looking for the heaviest stuff they could find to sort - I think one bag of charcoal they moved weighed almost as much as they do!  They were so cute, and we go often enough that the people who run the volunteer program know them, joke around with them and even give them special assignments to do.  They love it, and it's so good to get them involved in a community service activity.

We always get dinner afterwards, since the volunteering program runs from 6-8 pm, but they didn't want the usual Taco Bell (how could they say no to Taco Bell?!) or McDonalds.  Isabella said she really wanted to go to Denny's, so off we went in search of a convenient Denny's to eat at.  There are not many left around here.  Anywhere we go, people get such a kick out of the two girls, and always comment on my "twins".  I don't usually bother explaining the relationship, and the girls love being referred to that way.  They are too cute together - and definitely act like siblings, too!  We haven't seen Isabella much recently, our schedules have been very different, so this was nice and felt like we were actually getting back to normal activities.....as if anything we do is normal!

Everyone is asleep in the house now.  Two girls in Aubrey's room (Devon has been sleeping in a nest on her floor the past few nights), two dogs in the living room (don't ask), Ron in our room and three cats...well, maybe not everyone is asleep.  The puppy is scared of cats, so it's funny when he goes to walk around a corner and all of a sudden you hear a growl and he comes running back as fast as he can.  He spends the day at a friend's house with kittens, and he likes them, not afraid of the tiny cats at all.  In fact, he wants to play with them and goes into play mode, butt up in the air, head and front paws low to the ground.....I really think dogs don't get it.  That particular position is not play to a cat, it's exactly the opposite of play.  Reminds me why I am a cat person; they're so much smarter than dogs AND lower maintenance to boot.

My personal excitement of the week is being back in a boot.  My left knee has been bothering me for a couple of months now but I refuse to have the ACL/miniscis repair surgery....they say the recovery is bad and I don't want to have the surgery and that's that.  For the past month or so, my left ankle has been achy, so I've been wearing, most days, one of my ankle braces.  It finally reached the point where I couldn't stand it anymore and was afraid that maybe I had re-torn my tendon - also surgery with a not fun recovery.   The good news is that it may only be a bad case of tendonitis and maybe wearing the boot for a while will let the tendon heal....and did I know I had flat feet and pronate?  Duh, only since I was a teenager.  People feel all sorry for me when they see the boot but I love it - my ankle feels so much better in it.  My knee, however, does not like it, and I cannot wear my knee brace at the same time as the boot.  Oh, well, there's always some bad to go with the good.  The other bad news about the boot is that it's higher than my sneaker, so now I need to get some other shoe to wear so that i am more even - and fast before I start to have problems with my right knee and ankle and hip and my back....Oy!  I'd say I'm too young to be falling apart, but Devon would tell you I'm old!

I went out with the "girls" from work the other night to a painting place and we all created our own versions of a Monet Water Lily scene.  I like mine, not love it, but I've never been a painter or artist of any sort, so I am impressed at how well it came out.  It's hanging on the wall over the stairs and Devon was showing it to Isabella yesterday - isn't it pretty good, especially for an old person?  I guess because old people can't paint?

Well, as the saying goes, out of the mouths of babes.....I'm falling apart, so I must be old, but at least I'm smart, too.