The Best Mother’s Day Ever

Thankful to my husband and my two beautiful children, I had the very best day possible.  We packed up early Saturday morning with a picnic lunch in tow and enough clothing for a night.  As we have now adopted Alemayehu, at his age of 28, of course he joined in on the fun and traveled with us to the Oregon coast for an overnight visit that would be unforgettable.

The ocean is one of my very favorite places.  I am a highly sensory appreciative person for the good and the bad.  I love the sounds of the waves crashing and the gulls screeching, the smell of the fresh salty air and the mist that it leaves on your face, and the general peaceful sense of leaving your cares behind that the ocean brings for me.  We love to stay at the Inn at Spanish Head where Shane and I spent a few nights of our honeymoon, 16 years ago.  It has transitioned over the years into not only a romantic spot but a family favorite.  This trip brought relaxation, pampering, escape, unusually beautiful sunshine and an array of peacefulness and family love.  I so appreciated the attention showered on me from my favorite people, my family.

As always, spending family time with Alex always brings a piece of unpredictable adventure to our weekends and time together.  This weekend was especially enlightening into the uniqueness of our culture and the joy we share in watching Alex enjoy life like a child, so many ordinarily delightful ventures for the very first time.

Without having much idea of what to expect, except what he had seen in text books or Hollywood movies, Alex was amazed by his first sighting of the Pacific Ocean.  Many times he reminded us that this is the very biggest ocean, you know, I learned this in school!  The salty taste of the water, the sand squishing through his toes, the surprise of a sneaky wave all brought the ocean to life right before him.  Big bright eyes and an equally over sized smile showed his great appreciation and enjoyment of the surroundings and his American family.  I don’t know who appreciates the relationship more, Alex or the rest of us.  When we met him, only a few months ago, he was a gift sent from God to soothe our longing for Ethiopia and to share in a mission to love on the people who cherish their country.

The “firsts” we don’t ordinarily remember or take for granted are some of the ones that take me by surprise the most when Alex is so taken off guard by something new to him.  This weekend Alex uncovered and was certinally surprised by opening his first hide-a-bed.  The microwave popcorn dumbfounded him as he kept trying to figure out how that was all going down.  Even the instant coffee and powered creamer was amazing to him when trying to find grounds by stiring his spoon quickly and raising it to the surface of what was once just hot water.  “Where did it go?”  The silliest and most shocking surprise was his very first dunk in a swimming pool.

Alex explained that he had been in a pool before one time, with his brother at work.  You know, it was this big round hole dug in the ground with some water in it.  Sure, Alex….not quite like the chlorinated and sparkling beauty calling our names in front of us.  As a matter of normal brother like bantering that takes place regularly between Shane and Alex, before you knew it, unspespecting Alex was softly pushed into the pool!  While Shane was delighted by his little joke, knowing that Alex loves to have fun and certinally he would just hop back out being that he was inches from the edge, I began to panic. Alex did not turn to get out of the pool as expected but took off across the pool in a full windmill arm projection.  So much water hurling ever which way and Alex barely moving except away from the edge.  I shouted to Shane, “He CAN’T Swim!”  Oh no, what was he thinking? Shane looks at me a bit perplexed and realizes what has just happened.  What really was only seconds, seemed like minutes as we watched Alex struggle across the pool.  Would Shane need to jump in to save him?  Would Alex be traumatized forever?  Oh My.  We have really done it now.  Our sweet friend, brother and son, all rolled into one and we have totally been inconsiderate of his lack of exposure to American normalties and we may even drown the  sweet guy in our ignorance!  “Shane, you have to save him!”  Shane begins to shout, “Alex, Stand UP!!!!”  Of course Shane was aware the entire time, which I was not, that Alex was only in 4 feet of water.  “Alex, Stand UP!!!”  If you have never been in a pool, how would you know how deep it was?  Alex didn’t know how to swim.  He has floated down a few rivers, but never been in still water.  “Alex, Stand UP!!!”  I didn’t care, I just couldn’t stand to see him struggling across the pool.  I suppose he could drown in 4ft of water if he couldnt figure out it wasn’t deep.  But only a few seconds passed and although I had so much panic go rapidly through my mind, Alex grabs desperately to the side of the pool and clings for dear life.  His contagious and gigantic smile swirls around to Shane and he says “You going to Save me?”!!!  Oh my word.  Shane says one more time while Alex in holding onto the side of the pool for dear life, “Alex, Stand up.”  Alex stands up and begins to laugh histarically.  Oh my word, by now the panic is over and we are all dying with laughter.  Relief, panic, humor and craziness all being set aside and exchanged for our families laughter.  To say the least, Alex enjoyed the water immensely that day and we all took pleasure in giving him tips on trying to swim. He worked tirelessly, to make his way through the water and to learn to swim. The effortless part of his swimming skills are still in need of some development!  He never gives up.

That evening Alex took us to dinner, we watched a movie in the hotel and generally just enjoyed one anothers company.  At the outlet mall, Alex bought his first pair of swim trunks which were debuted on Sunday and truly amazing to him and how quickly they dry as opposed to the short pants he wore Saturday.

Our family has truly been blessed by having Alex as a member of  our family.   He has taught us to appreciate the simple things, to love each other more deeply, to cherish the moments we have together and to trust God with a future that is only known to him.

The best Mother’s day ever….thank you to my sweet family, all 4 of them.