Closer and Farther Apart

Summer has been hot. Very hot.  Last year at this time we visited Seattle for a wedding. It was a record breaking 100+ week.  No one has air conditioning.

This week, as was the week previous, and promises to be next week, we endure record breaking 100+ degree days.  So, I guess we're used to it. But this heat brings some serious challenges when it comes to entertaining a 20 month old...

Walks outside are impossible.  Stuck inside, we get creative with all four rooms of our four room house.  We visit the dogs in their air-conditioned garage. We go for rides in the truck (with the A/C!) and we rest.

Lu has always been a good sleeper, but now she will take it upon herself to find a spot in the middle of the floor, lay her head down on her blanket (affectionately dubbed, "Nightnight",) and say "rest." Then, five to ten seconds later, she's back up and running.  It is good to see she has gained some useful skills for adulthood this early.

On a more somber note, this week Felicity rushed back to Utah after her father, Boyd, was hospitalized for a serious brain hemorrhage.  He's not out of the woods yet, but things are looking very good for him.  All of us at Five Happiness ask you to keep him in your thoughts throughout his recovery.  Boyd is a strong hearted, athletic seventy-two. He's got plenty of things left to do. Teaching Tallulah to paint is only one of them.

In the interim, Daddy is parenting on his own, for the first time. I've cut my work days in half to spend more attention on my sweetie.  She only inquires after mommy in the mornings, and sometimes after naps. For the most part she is taking this change in stride.  Not much phases her, save low blood sugar, or fatigue.  We have started video chats in the afternoon with Felicity and her Mother, Marie, who jumps at every opportunity to see her darling granddaughter.  Who can blame her?

In hindsight we see clearly the strengthening effect calamity brings. Bonds are tempered and struggles endured for the better.  But while they last it is hard to look beyond obstacles to see the greater picture.  We see only the desperation of the moment. I am working very hard to keep Tallulah's environment as unchanged as possible, but even she knows something is off.  But I can see her mind grow with every new thing she encounters. Somehow, being farther apart from family will bring us closer.

Yours, as always,

Bradley and Tallulah

A Year of Firsts

Tallulah is now just over eighteen months old. Her life is full of new experiences. I find the same true in my life as well. I have never had an eighteen month old girl. It is wonderful.

Yesterday, for example, we ran around the pond in our backyard for what seemed hours. The sky began to bruise, a nice cooling breeze lifted it's head, and my daughter experienced a Summer rain for the first time.

She knows the ASL sign for "rain" and "wet", and immediately used them upon feeling the drops on her skin. When she saw the ripples on the pond surface, she signed "wet." All new for her and for me.

We purchased a small wooden bench/table for her to use in the house. It gets her up to counter height making her able to wash dishes, or, more accurately, splash water all over the floor.  Here are a couple pictures of our little maid and her new platform:

I love the look on her face that seems to offer mild disgust at the work presented her.  The caption might read: "Really? REALLY?"


We also made a trip to the North Carolina beach for Father's Day. Regular readers might recall last year's trip was cut short for me due to a dog emergency. But we made up for it this season.  A family friend owns a huge house on South Holden Island. My Uncle Buddy, his girlfriend Robin, my parents, Tallulah, Felice, and I all had a blast in the warm (really warm) waters of the Atlantic. 

Tallulah made her first ocean swim, without any prompting. She climbed out of her custom swimming pool in the sand, some hundred yards away from the waves, and marched towards the surf.  Fearless. After enjoying herself immensely, she waved her hands in front of her signing, "all done" and headed back to the safety of the shaded pool up the beach.  Quite an adventure.  I have never felt quite so proud.

We are thankful for all we have here at Five Happiness. My design business is starting to pick up. I'm working on a Tuscan style patio, complete with olive trees and a terracotta fountain.  I have a new drum set that closely matches the fantasy kit I've always dreamed of playing.

Felicity has negotiated a great position at work allowing her ample time with Tallulah, and keeping the best parts of her job, eschewing the worst. Nice.   And she's beginning to work with Arbonne, a Swiss-based company specializing in high end skin care and cosmetics.  She's excited. 

I leave you with a couple of images from our lovely hut. Both include cameos from what appears to be a Palestinian terrorist masquerading as our dog. No wonder he's such a pain in the ass.

From our hearts to yours,

Team Pants!!

Spring Has Sprung

Well, it has been a long time indeed. Much has transpired here in North Carolina at Five Happiness. We've missed you.

Tallulah is now almost fifteen months old. She turned one year old December twenty-first, and had her first birthday cake (carrot.) Life is incredible here. Spring is finally knocking down the door Winter boarded shut. The rains have been fierce, drenching the ground Seattle-style. But it's making for a verdant growing season.

Bradley is in school studying Landscape Design. He has been selected to represent his school in a nationwide competition in April. We'll be sure to give you an update once he's swept the awards. His sculpture is gaining noteriety in the Triangle area. He's received a paid commission and working on a custom stone wall. He is researching a design/sculpture business he'll likely start sometime this year.

Felicity is the happiest mother on the planet, because Tallulah is such a lovely, smart li'l thing. (see below)

We count our blessings daily, missing our friends, but keeping you all in our hearts. We endeavor to keep this blog more regularly updated, so stay tuned.

Much Love,

Bradley, Felicity, and Tallulah

Merry Chrismas, Tout Le Monde!

from

Five Happiness

Bradley, Felicity, and Tallulah (now one year old.)

Old Friends, New Friends

Five Happiness calls North Carolina home now, going on seven months. In that time we've reunited with familiar faces, some out of the blue not seen for twenty-plus years, others like the crunch of an apple: delicious and known. We have met new people in our search for our own kind, in looking for some hybrid of creativity and fearlessness matched by exuberance and emotional intelligence. They are rare, and do not breed in captivity. Our hunt is in the wild, so to speak.

In the old faces become new there is a joy to see what life has brought in the seemingly brief, yet vast intermission since we saw them last. Many have children, or grandchildren, even. They have "become" new to me, though familiar to themselves and true to all. It is so comforting and generous to be allowed to reenter a childhood friend's life as an adult, with all the challenges requisite: To allow them to be who they are, unclouded by the person you thought you knew. But knowing that you both share a deep and complex rooted past that chiseled you both into the shapes you now hold. We can credit each other for some small bit of that molding.

We take our time moving through days. We recently visited some Seattle friends traveling through. (see photos) Wes and Laura were in Virginia for a wedding and were tempted by the quaint burgh of Asheville, NC. We intercepted them and our mutual friend Trip for a lovely weekend full of children and easy days.

Wes and Quentin enjoy Tallulah and Bradley's Company

A Reflection of Parenting

Laura, Wes, Trip, Bradley, and Felicity Sip Sweet Tea

Upon our return we began in earnest to find people that could possibly fill the vacancies left by our dear group of Seattle friends. For those readers in the aforementioned population, don't worry. To plagiarize Sinead O'Connor, "Nothing compares to ewe." We feel sheepish to even mutton the phrase. Shear lunacy. [editor's note: There will be floggings as a result of this rash punography.] But that's not to say we aren't trying. Durham is a growing artist's haven. A downtown in the midst of revival, with lots of large studios is a scenario Seattlites will recognize, if their histories dip back into the Eighties. We have much to do, with work, our little rascal [status update: Tallulah is 20 lbs. and almost walking,] and the mix of socializing, working out, and play we place at the top of our agendas. We have time for all our family: you included. We want to hear from you. What you want to know, how you are, who you are...let us know you're out there. We'll write more.