Dear E.C.S: 2016 In Review

Dear E.C.S.,

I love the end and start of a year because it is about completion and beginnings. It provides space to reflect about the past year and think what reinventions and adventures will occur in the new year.

So to reflect on this past year, I thought I would be a top 10.   A top 10 of what?  I don’t really know…I guess, things that stick out. 

I told Wilson about doing a top 10 and his reaction:

“That’s a lot to think about.”

He’s right, so here’s my top 5

5.  Transition period between jobs

In mid-July,  I had a couple of weeks at the end of my job and between jobs to spend time with Elle one-on-one in the Bahamas and take a mommy-daughter trip to Colorado and Utah to see a ton of family and friends.   It was incredible to savor the time with Elle before we left our home in the Bahamas and then also get to see so many lifetime friends throughout Colorado and Utah.  

4.  Movement

2016 has been another year of movement in the Korol household.  Per the usual.  Whether seeing family and friends in NYC or skiing in Utah and France or swimming off different shores in the Bahamas, we were constantly on the move.    It was thrilling, exhausting, and probably because 2016 never gave Elle much predictability, she still isn’t sleeping through the night…hopefully soon.

3.  Gratitude

While globally, 2016 felt like a terrible year – humanitarian crises (Syria, South Sudan, Congo, etc.), terrorist attacks (Pulse nightclub, Bastille Day, Berlin Christmas Market, etc.), personally I am grateful. 

In this blog, I have repeatedly written about my gratitude for our lives and for every day that sickness and harm does not befall us.  That is a daily thought, one that centers my experience as a mother and wife and friend and family member. 

2. My new job

This one relates to #3 - I am so incredibly happy to be working in the international development field.  Whether my organization is helping alleviate drought and famine for millions in Ethiopia or supporting Syrian humanitarian interventions or encouraging both domestic or international small business development, I feel so lucky to work to support these efforts while providing for my family.

1.  You- Elle Catherine Sarah Korol

Elle Catherine Sarah Korol, you were born in a year 2015 when 1 out of 8 babies was born in conflict. I am so thankful and grateful you, and we, do not live in conflict.  You have brought us so much joy and peace - beyond my ability to describe on a daily basis. You bring so much light to our lives that it is hard to conceive of the year when you won’t be the highlight.  

love, 
mom

Dear E.C.S.: staples of life

Dear E.C.S., 

Despite the heartbreak that I wrote about in the last blog post, life goes on and the staples of life sustain us... sleep, food and water, and friends and family...

Sleep

Since April 2015 (when I was 9 months pregnant with you), I think that I maybe have gotten 5 nights of a continuous 8 hour sleep--and the majority of those were probably when I was still 9 months pregnant.  Most of the time, my sleep has been interrupted by intervals to nurse you or worry about you.   Thus, sleep and going to bed has become an obsession.

The funny thing is that this obsession was completely displaced when celebrating my friend at her surprise 40^th birthday party.   I completely surprised myself by hanging out with friends until 4 am.  It was like I was in my 20s again instead of a stodgy 38 year old seeking a 9:15 pm bedtime.

I appreciated this miraculous burst of energy....

Food and Water

A few days after sleep deprived night, the extended Korol family visited us for Thanksgiving.  And once again, I felt so grateful for abundance of food and happiness and the celebration of that abundance every fourth Thursday in November.    

However for some, Thanksgiving is darkened by reflecting on the history that Native Americans have endured.  

Friends

A week after the Thanksgiving holidays, we took a quick weekend trip to Maine  to see your dad’s (Wilson's) friends from childhood.  It is pretty special to see friends that Wilson has adored for more than 30 years.   He has many old friends who he has known since he was 4 years old.  I admire Wilson's continuous friendships since pre-school days.  

This is one of my biggest concerns for you, my daughter, that you will feel that you have continuous friendships like your dada.  However, you already have friends from some of our dearest friends (whether 30 year or 10 year friendships) and so am hopeful that your global friendships will span the decades like your dad’s neighborhood friendships have.

Staples of life...sleep, food and water, and friends and family...

Love,

Mom