In memoriam to my Omi

She plugged in the waffle iron at the breakfast table so she didn't have to keep running into the kitchen (why don't I ever remember to do that?). She grew the biggest, most beautifully scented roses I have ever had the pleasure of burying my nose in. She never failed to have a treasure set aside for me and my sisters each time we visited, a "little something" that she had found while volunteering to sort donated goods at Vashon's famous Granny's Attic thrift shop. She always had a book in German that she was reading, and reverted to speaking in the language of her youth as Alzheimer's overtook her. When she continued to recognize me but not Jeff, she was always delighted to discover this tall, handsome, funny man was my husband.

She was my "Omi" (a German term of endearment for "Grandma"), and she passed away Thursday, March 18, at the age of 91.

Her death was not unexpected, and she died peacefully in her sleep, in the house she'd lived in for decades, lovingly caretaken by my grandpa -- who refused to consider any other living arrangement. His devotion is inspiring to me.

Although the last time we spent together was right before New Year's, at our Garrison family reunion in Port Townsend, I'm grateful she got to know Soren (pictured above at his first Christmas, in 2008). He was a lucky boy to be born with three great-grandparents...now, two.

I hadn't really cried until just now. It feels good and right. Her time with us was at an end.

I love you, Karin, my Omi, and we'll miss you.

Soren's first kayak paddle

Saturday, Feb. 20, was the day we decided the weather, Soren's attention span, and our energy levels aligned well enough to try Soren in one of our kayaks. So we loaded our two singles onto our car and drove the half-mile down to the boat launch at the new Northwest Maritime Center. (Note the cool faded-letter signage, echoing the faded painted advertisements that are common on brick buildings in the historic downtown.)
Jeff thought he would try paddling with Soren seated between his legs in the cockpit. They made a good start off the beach, and Soren was of course intrigued by the new experience, but in retrospect, his lifejacket was too tight and uncomfortable.
And he wanted to help paddle -- or at least to have his own paddle!
Jeff didn't take Soren too far offshore (and in fact, I never got into my boat, just took photos from shore). After about 15 minutes, Soren got really wiggly and attempted to stand up, at which point Jeff headed straight for the beach. Session over.
If we could zoom in on this photo, we'd see Grannie and Papaw watching our paddle attempt with binoculars from the passing ferry. They'd stopped by to see us an hour before, on their way home to Anacortes. They said they could see us!

That afternoon, Jeff set his kayak on the ground in our backyard and we dug out the next-largest lifejacket we had, and he and Soren had a practice paddle in a less watery environment. Next time we'll try borrowing a friend's double and the adult sitting with Soren won't have to paddle. But here's to more fun on the water in 2010!

Soren's a year and a half!

Here he comes, crawling through the tunnel of toddlerhood! Isn't he getting so big?
Our little boy is an astounding 18 months old now -- his half birthday was Feb. 27 -- and it's just a delight to witness him developing as an individual and a person who delights in making other people happy.

He is such a ham. For example, we attended an open house at a church in our neighborhood yesterday and I sat him down to eat a snack at a table next to a very elderly man. He wore hearing aids, and it took a few back-and-forths before he understood our names. He seemed fairly reticent. But I jumped up to get some drinks and when I came back, Soren and Carl were grinning and winking and giggling at each other. Soren was full of energy that day and couldn't sit still. Every few minutes he would jump off of his chair, run out the door, run pell-mell down the hallway (making everyone laugh along the way), run back, belly up onto his chair, and grin at Carl all over again. After a half-hour of this good fun, one of Carl's friends came up to us and said we'd made the old man's day.

When we went to say goodbye to Carl, I shook his hand and then Soren very seriously offered his hand to be shook. When he felt the old man's large and wrinkled hand close around his, he paused and got even more serious. Then Soren lifted up his other hand and rested it outside Carl's and they just stood there like that for a moment, his two little hands clasped around the big one. It brought a tear to my eye.

And it reminds me that Soren's physician commented on his excellent eye contact at his 18-mo. well-child exam. Yes, those soulful blue eyes can just bore right into you. He weighs 26.1 pounds now, and both his height and weight are right at the 50th percentile.

Here are a few more pictures from Feb. 27 of Soren's visit with his age-mate Tayla (11 days older). They have very similar physical abilities and really enjoy push-toys -- provided they aren't fighting each other for the same toy!


And here are the two munchkins cozied up reading with Mama Shannon. What great friends!