"Baby Ray popped out of Mommy's belly!"

Maybe it wasn't quite as simple as that, but that's how Leon explained it to all of us when he met his new brother. He's usually more interested in the things than the people, but even mechanically-minded Leon knew this was a big moment. He kept repeating his explanation of how Baby Ray turned from a much-discussed myth supposedly related to the bump in Mommy's belly to the tiny person he held on his lap:

"Baby Ray popped out of Mommy's belly!"

 "...Baby Ray popped out of Mommy's belly!"

...Okay, someone else can hold this now... (His exact words were "Want me to hold it!" which was how he indicated that Daddy, who he hears calling himself "me", should take his brother away from him so he could examine the hospital scanners.)

Me: "Leon, did you know that when I was born, that's when Daddy became a big brother, just like you did today when baby Ray was born?"

Leon: "Banana!"

Historical note: when he first met me, 3 1/2 year old Russ took off his pants and pooped on the floor.

His son Leon seemed a lot more amenable to having a new sibling. 

My earlier visit with Ray the morning he was born, October 31st. Yes, a Halloween birthday! His cousins Demitri and Johannes were envious.

I wish I had a photo of Cee to show you, too -- she was absolutely glowing. I felt so lucky to get to visit with the three of them in the first few hours of Ray's life. Both Cee and Ray were doing so well. We were all so grateful and happy!

Leon welcomes Baby Ray home for the first time:  

 

 

 

Proud Daddy with his new son!

Meanwhile, I left for two weeks the day after Ray was born. By then, Cee's mother, Janice, was staying with the family and it would have been a bit crowded with all of us. (More about my amazing two weeks in another post.)

When I returned, Baby Ray had his eyes open a lot more often:

Most of all, throughout this whole adventure, I got to spend a lot of time with big brother Leon, picking him up from "school," learning how to open and close an umbrella, practicing jumping, etc. The first words out of his mouth most mornings were, "Wanna play the guitar!" I can relate to that...

Aunt Amanda holds the chord shapes, Leon strums like crazy.

So his parents got him a Leon-sized guitar, with which we passed many happy hours. This kid has a seriously long attention span.

If you want to see what a two-and-a-half year old rock star looks like, check this out (only 25 seconds long):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC6FxOv8MVQ

As for MY mommy and daddy, Papa Jerry and Grandma Judy arrived from Boston a few days before Thanksgiving. This is on the way back from the community garden, where Leon really enjoys the hoses:

High five?

Thanks to Russ, Cee, and Dad for these photos!

"Birds Have Tushies, Too"

So said Leon, who was watching a bird groom itself. Nevermind that the "tushie" was actually the bird's breast, looking particularly derriere-like as the bird turned its head to preen its tail feathers.

These days are filled with such gems. Leon and I get to spend a lot of time together, reason numero uno for leaving Maine for a year. Now instead of watching him grow up on Youtube from 3000 miles away, I can almost -- almost -- watch him grow before my eyes. He's gotten a lot better with a guitar pick. He sings "Puff the Magic Dragon" whenever he's not actively doing anything else, and often even  while doing something else. He calls himself "you" and everyone else "me" -- I didn't know toddlers had such a charming stage in language acquisition.

The two of us spend a lot of time together in anticipation of the arrival of his new brother. Coming soon! I'm so grateful to get to be such a close part of Russ, Cee, and Leon's family during this time.

As soon as the baby arrives, I take off for two weeks and turn Leon care over to his grandmother. I'll return to San Francisco once Russ goes back to work. In the meantime, I haven't decided yet where I'll go. Anyone want to join me for an adventure?

The Desert

Hi everyone,

I've spent the last month in the Mojave desert and I just got back to San Francisco yesterday. It's dreamy there... many thanks to Steph and Ethan for being such awesome hosts! I felt like part of the family; it was hard to leave.

I arrived in Joshua Tree on September 18th and it was still hot summer there. The first morning I had to hop out of bed soon after the sun came up so I wouldn't get baked in my room. The next morning Ethan, Steph, and I woke up at 3:30 to try to beat the heat on the infamous Cactus to Clouds hike. We started at sea level in the low desert and climbed all the way up to 10,800 feet.

Weirdest trailhead ever. This is from the street in front of the Palm Springs Art Museum. We just parked on a city street and began our hike right behind the museum.

After a few hours of hiking past cacti in the dark and cool, the sun (or, as Ethan called it, the "death star") came out. But we were high enough by then that not one of us got heat stroke! We did bring over 2 gallons of water each just in case. 

18.5 miles in, at the peak!

The summit was spectacular. This is just a few minutes before I lost Ethan and Steph, but thanks to the whistle on my pack, they found me and I didn't have to sleep up there!

A few days later, the winds of change blew through. Literally. The dry, cold, desert winds carried winter the day Steph drove me 20 minutes down the road to the Southern California Vipassana Center to begin my 10 day course there. Here was my daily schedule for 10 days:

Steph claims that I almost cried when I learned that I couldn't bring my journal with me. I didn't almost cry, but I was a little anxious -- not only was I going to give up my phone and computer for 10 days (easy), but I also had to leave behind my books, magazines, paper, and even pens. It might seem strange to you. If you'd like to know why, read more here.


In fact, if you're interested and can find the time to take one of these 10 day courses, I urge you to do it. It's a rarer and rarer chance to disconnect from distractions and observe and strengthen your mind. It's offered all over the world, free of charge (past students donate to make it possible for new students), and is staffed by volunteers. I was so moved by the love and care of the volunteer servers that I got choked up at a couple of meals! Even more poignant given that I couldn't express this appreciation to anyone (until the end, when we could talk).

I'm not sure how to sum up what my own personal experience was like. One thing I did notice was that the same fear came up that I experienced hiking the John Muir Trail. On my hiking trip, I started noticing a pain in my knee and worried that if I kept up the intense exercise, I would permanently damage it. I wasn't worried about the pain itself, but rather what it might mean in the long run. The same thing came up during my meditation, in almost the exact same words (in my mind, as I was maintaining silence). The only difference in the worry was that this time too much sitting, rather than too much exercise, might lead to permanent damage. In the midst of my anxiety, though, I could laugh at myself a little bit this time around. I remembered that on the trail, the pain had gone away after a few days and my legs felt stronger than ever. And so it happened with sitting, too. I'm not sure how to articulate the different way I've come to see my mind/body... but I like it. I'm so grateful I got to have both of these experiences.

At the very end of the course, we were allowed to talk. Here's a photo of me with some of the other folks who stayed in the same dorm as me (behind us):

And the last desert experience I'll leave you with:

Snow day!

Yes. Really.

I figured I ought to hike the highest mountain in Southern California, now that I'd hiked Cactus to Clouds.

 But it was the first snow of the season.

Here's where I parked.

I didn't see a single other person on the trail the entire day.

I wasn't the first one on the trail though:

 I felt right at home with the fallen maple leaves and the snow.

I love junipers even more now that I've spent a snow day with them!

The snow was glorious, but very slow. I had to turn back before I made it to the top. No regrets. Now I have a great excuse to return to the desert!

On the Trail

How to capture 3 weeks on the John Muir Trail? At least I can give you a taste with some photos. 

Early on, walking through the glaciated valleys. The trail was pretty much always this beautiful, even as the landscape varied dramatically. 

Cedars! I love them!

I guess I *am* a tree-hugger.

One of our more creative campsites. Check out our ultralight tent - no tent poles, just hiking poles. Lisa and her mom sewed it!

There's gold in them hills?

We often started hiking before sunrise so we got to see the light as it rose up the mountains most mornings.

Our last re-supply stop at Muir Trail Ranch, joined by Steph. We wanted to demonstrate what a ridiculously large quantity of food we were going to be eating over the next 8.5 days, but it doesn't really show up in the photo. Instead, you might be wondering why Lisa and I are wearing rain gear... Ethan was washing our clothes, and we only had one set!

Rested and ready for the last, and hardest, leg! My pack weighed in at 37 pounds, fully loaded.

Don't worry, we made it out of there okay.

The famous Evolution Basin.

Many days we started in the trees, hiked up and over a pass, and hiked back down to the trees. The passes looked like this usually: lots of scree and talus (rocks). Even after acclimating for weeks, it was still hard to breath up there! A gatha (mantra) from the Thich Nhat Hanh retreat helped us with those climbs: "Breathing in, I calm my body. Breathing out, I smile."

At the top of one of the passes. The last week of the trip, we had 5 passes in 5 days. It felt like running a marathon that took all day, going to bed, getting up, and doing it again. Five days in a row.

A typical kitchen on the trail! 

We swam in this tarn (glacial lake) at 12,200 feet. It was so cold that I didn't feel it when I kicked a sharp rock and sliced open my toe. But there's something magically healing about so much walking... it healed quickly.

Just another evening on the JMT.

"And this is how you put on the sunscreen..." three times a day. SO MUCH SUN at this elevation. 

Steph crossing the bridge at King's River. Getting close -- only 3 days to Whitney! That night I slept under the stars, instead of in the tent, protected by an ancient Juniper tree. It was one of my best night's sleep on the whole trip.

Alpenglow!

Our last pass before Whitney, and the highest point of the trail so far. When we got here, we realized that we were really going to make it. And on top of that, right as we got to the pass, an eagle flew right over us! The next day was a "rest" -- no pass, and only 12 miles, up to Guitar Lake on the side of Whitney.

(Unfortunately, the pictures from the last couple days, including Whitney, didn't download, so maybe I'll post them when I get them from Lisa. Stay tuned.)

Thanks for reading! And thanks so much to Lisa for taking these amazing photos!