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

Dear E.C.S.: 3 months in DC metro

Dear E.C.S.,

We are 3 months into our DC metro lifestyle...we have a farm share, jobs, daycare, a 99 VW beetle bug (courtesy of the grandparents), and, even, a marine marathon passing by our window on a Sunday morning.

And we love the DC metro area.  Obviously, we love its history and its museums, but we also love its diversity, its nature, and its urbanity.

Diversity

Growing up in Utah and then doing Peace Corps in Madagascar, I felt like I was either among almost all "white" people or almost all "black" people.  Subsequently, the places that we have lived for longer periods of time (San Francisco, North Carolina, the Bahamas) and some of the shorter-time places (Australia, Las Vegas) have felt slightly better but they all still feel pretty segregated in their own ways -- especially the places that we traveled to.   However, DC feels different and much more integrated.

According to the Census Reporter, the current population of the DC Metro area is 6 plus million people.  The breakdown of race/ethnicity is: black – 25%, white -- 46%,  hispanic – 15%, asian or pacific islander—10%, and two plus categories--3%.   And while the US's overall population demographics of its 321 plus million people is not so dissimilar (12% black, 61% white, 18% hispanic, 5% asian, 2% two plus, 1% native), the DC area feels so much more intermingled than so many other places that I have lived.

It feels weird to point all of this out, however, I like how DC to me, often feels like, you can just be a human surrounded by a lot of "different" looking humans and it doesn't matter, we are all going to the same swanky restaurant or walking the same streets.  It's nice to not feel like such a "majority" or a "minority" -- just feel like a human among many humans, regardless of your ancestry, "color", gender identification, etc. 

Nature

Nature is surprisingly great for a location that is home to more than 6 million people.  Our family lives in one of the most concrete jungle neighborhoods of the DC metro (Rosslyn) and yet less than a half-mile from us,  we can run on an amazing trail--the Potomac Heritage Trail.  Pictures of that trail are above and below.

Not only do we have this trail but we are super close to the Roosevelt Island that the dad (Wilson) blogged about.   Two weeks ago, you and I saw 8 deer on this island.

Urbanity

Walking for miles on a weekend is our idea of a good time - our beloved walkabouts.  We love the access to coffee shops and libraries that urbanity provides.   Walking to visit friends and walking to stroll in the beautiful Georgetown neighborhood.

Pic below of the canal that meanders along Georgetown.

Having access to so much without having to use a car is such a nice way to be outside and spend a warm fall evening.

Walking and running with you through the wonders of DC has been such a pleasure thus far and am excited to see how the next 8 months of DC unfold.

Love,
Mom

Blogging again...why the silence and what's the way forward?

I have been silent for almost 6 months.    Life has been crazy - changed jobs, changed countries, and have a baby who is a "pistol" to our delight and terror.    Like most 18 month olds, she is keeping us busy, joyous, and frazzled.

Hiking/climbing in Kentucky

But one of the biggest reasons for silence from me has been the struggle to figure out how to blog moving forward.  Loved doing the B.A.B.E. blogs, however, felt that I need to do more to protect the privacy of our precious Elle moving forward.   Figuring out how to blog about my reflections on life while also trying to respect Elle's privacy has been difficult.  Elle is such a central part of my life and identity that decoupling blogs from her felt impossible.

So to reconcile this "impossibility", I decided on the following solution:

• Public blogs and private updates:  I am going to start blogging regularly again.   Hope to blog every other Tuesday.  The blogs won't contain pictures or updates of Elle.  However,  I will create an email list of folks who want the pictures/updates of Elle and will send pictures/updates with the latest link to the blog.  Please please let me know if you want to be on the email list.
• Letters to Elle:  So while I don't plan to include specific info and pics about Elle, I do plan to write the majority of the blogs in the form of a letter to Elle.   The reason for this is that so many of my thoughts concerning the world revolve around Elle and so neglecting that aspect of the experience feels largely incomplete.

Here we go:   Letters to Elle Catherine Sarah Korol...so look out for my first Dear E.C.S. blog posting on Tuesday 11/1/16.   And please let me know if you want to be on the email list for pictures and Elle update.

Moon rising over DC from our building's rooftop deck

Take care,

Muriel

The Korols go to Washington (well Northern Virginia)

I want to see you game boys,
I want to see you brave and manly,
and I also want to see you gentle and tender.

Be practical as well as generous in your ideals.
Keep your eyes on the stars
and keep your feet on the ground.

Courage, hard work, self mastery, and intelligent effort
are all essential to a successful life.

Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual
and of nations alike

- Theodore Roosevelt

This set of quotes from ol’ Teddy Roosevelt are emblazoned one of the massive stone tablets on Roosevelt Island -- the oft missed and very lovely monument and island here in the DC area.  The island sits just off the Virginian side of the Potomac, looking to Georgetown and the Kennedy Center.  It has become one of my favorite places in DC, now about a half-mile from our building and a dominant feature of the city from our buildings rooftop patio.

I have been back in Washington (well Northern Virginia technically) for a bit more than a week.  And it has been unequivocally great.  First off, because we are back together as a family.  Elle started daycare and it has been going well. Her teachers love the dancing she does.  Elle sweetly dances and smiling says always in a group of three “Shake, Shake, Shake.”  One of her teachers today told Muriel that she must have picked that soul in the Bahamas. And she must have.

Being back in a proper urban environment has been such a revelation.  Nassau living has much to offer, like the beach 100 yards from our house with clear water, perfect temps and lot of turtles and tiger rays.  But besides the beach, we had to drive pretty much everywhere there.  Here?  No so much, with a great blend of options from walking, to biking, to running, to metro, to uber all literally steps from our apartment.  Add in that there can be discovery in a city, the fun of walking along and stopping in a food spot, bar or store that charms.  Or finding a gem on Yelp that is like a block and half to the east and certainly worth a try.

We are ensconced in Rosslyn again, right across the Key Bridge from Georgetown.  Muriel has a super mellow commute of five stops, and she was ‘complaining’ a few days ago that the run home from work was too short to get a proper workout.  Although with the heat we have been having in our nation’s capital this week, that would be a plenty taxing run. Elle and I can head to work either via our lent car from my parents or a State Department shuttle.  Right now, I think we will rely on the flexibility of the car, but she does love the shuttle so that is always a viable backup. 

So much of this week has been revisiting people, places and things that we came to love 2 years ago for our summer in this city.  Yet even with a concerted effort to soak up the reentry--there is so much more to enjoy and many, many more people to share some time.  Those two purposed will dominate our personal time over the next months, and I am so excited about the good times to come. 

We miss our home of two years, but life in the Foreign Service sort of has to be forward focused and in true Belichick fashion we are “on to Washington.”  Bring it.