Time flies when your life is changing
As you know I have been a lurker for years... Reading your journals but rarely commenting... Posting my own entries once in a blue moon... But I seriously miss my journal! I was reading it the other day wishing I had never stopped but its hard to find the time. Silly to think that once my life got more interesting I would stop blogging. I quit my steady job & moved to Costa Rica, took on a whole new career & became self-employed. My husband became my business partner & teacher. After that I drove cross country numerous times, visiting Native American ruins, camping all over, staying in countless (always pet friendly) Motel 6's, & of course getting spoiled every time we stopped in Arizona to stay with Mary. We made a few trips to Mexico visiting Carver's familia, & then wandering of to explore so many Mayan ruins I lost count, Mexican fiestas, road tripping, beaches... The joke with the familia is that we have seen more of Mexico than they have! We have also made it back to Costa Rica plenty... It really feels like my second home. We have AMIGOS there. We are always welcome. Our beach town Coco has changed so much since our first time there 8 years ago but every time we go back it is still home. It's an amazing country. We meet new people, travel to new places, experience new things. I am never so relaxed, so stressed, so excited & so enchanted as I am when I am in Costa Rica. Jungles, beaches, water falls, mountains, volcanos, rivers, rain forests... & we still haven't seen it all. I have been to Nicaragua twice & Panama too. My passport looks like I've always wanted it to! I am finally impressed with my Spanish. If I never make another trip I will have experienced a life time of adventures that I will never forget. Travel expands the mind & slows time. You remember what you did every single day & nothing is routine.
This year was different. This year we had a baby! Kira Ana Mostardi was born January 1, 2013 & she is the most beautiful baby girl I have ever seen. Labor was complicated & I almost didn't make it, but the universe was looking out for us! Nothing compares to the struggles & joys this cutie pie presents me with every day. I have been drawn to the name Kira for years but I never knew why. Sure it is the name of the female gelfling in The Dark Crystal & sure it means sparkle or glitter in Japanese but there are so many other meanings to her name that I never knew until I looked it up - several times. Of the many meanings the Sanskrit one stands out the most - "Beam of light." She definitely makes our world shine like no other!
Of course the name Ana comes from Carver's mom who passed away from Leukemia when he was 17. I knew the day I learned about her & her 15 year battle with the disease that if we ever had a daughter she would somehow have her grandmother's name. It means "full of grace" & I hope Kira learns how to be strong & cheerful like her grandmother was all of her days. Life is a blessing & we are all privileged to have the time we are given. Carver's mom touched the lives of so many people, not just saving lives as a nurse, but by being an amazing mother, wife, & friend. She had a strange childhood in a religious commune where her sister mysteriously died. She eventually managed to run away from there only to marry an abusive husband which she also ran away from. She was a single mom for 10 years & somehow managed to put herself through nursing school. She eventually met Al, but he was no prize at the time! Drug abuse, car theft... He lovingly recalls how she "whipped his ass into shape." All the while Ana kept her chin up & a smile on her face. I hope Kira can do the same no matter what hardships she faces in life.
Today Kira is 11 weeks old! Every week is a new milestone. Some day soon I am going to write out everything that happened in the hospital so I never forget. I feel like it should be recorded somewhere. I started a few days ago but then my app died & I didn't feel like starting all over, but it needs to be done. Coming soon to an LJ near you!
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