Made in Reykjavik: August 2010

When Tumi and I were in the US last Christmas, we decided to open a bank account together. The woman at the bank asked us what we did for a living, and Tumi said he was an engineer. I said I was in school, but was just about to finish. She glanced down at my large pregnant bump, and said, "I'll just write 'homemaker."' The label caught me off guard...I'd never thought of myself as a homemaker. It almost felt like I'd just been insulted. 'Homemaker'? Me? I'm the progeny of a very liberal and feminist matriarchy. Both of my grandmothers (Elsa's great grandmas) are brilliant women who graduated from college when it was a rare life choice for women. Both worked very hard their whole lives both at home and professionally. (I'll just add here that the men of my lineage, with the exception of my dad, have not been very helpful examples of how to live a fulfilling and happy life as a parent). My own mother is the best role model for excellent parenting I could imagine, and she also worked very hard full time when raising me and my brothers. With such strong, trail blazing, feminist women in my heritage, 'homemaker' was like a slap in the face...like I'd been demoted from 'well-educated, productive, modern woman with a valuable and important voice,' to 'barefoot and pregnant woman in the kitchen there to make babies and cook and clean the house.'

This is when I realized my own prejudice, which is indeed a strange sensation.

I'd like to make a proposal. I think we (society nowadays) should make an effort to reward and recognize the contribution of women (and men, too, I guess) who choose to stay at home and invest their time and energy into raising healthy, happy kids. Imagine a world in which everyone spent the majority of their baby and toddling years at home with a parent to meet their needs and teach them in a loving way. I remember hearing about a study done by an economist called "If Women Counted" that was all about what the world would look like if the work homemakers did was defined in monetary terms and incorporated into policy and decision making. Unsurprisingly, the amount of work, and the time it takes, not to mention the invaluable contribution of mothers raising a healthy and well-adjusted future generation of society, turns out to rival the 'doctor/lawyer' income bracket when defined monetarily.

Regardless of if we pay them or not, homemakers perform a very important social service, and need recognition for their contributions. If you can...go hug your mom right now! Thank her for having grace and patience and the wisdom to balance working and raising you. I promise she worked really hard to make you healthy and happy!

In other, less rant-y news...

Riley Drake is back on the couch for a few days before returning home. He is fuzzy and happy.

Elsa is almost crawling. She tucks up her little legs and wobbles for a bit before slumping back down onto her tummy. She is mobile...she wiggles and pivots and rolls around on the floor, so she always ends up in a new and different place than when she was set down. She is lovely and getting cuter all the time! She now tries to eat the baby in the mirror, which is very entertaining for everyone involved...

Love that beautiful face...

Playing with Aunt Gunnhildur

Good lift, girlie!

With Great-Bapu!

Bundled up for a walk in the cold

It's all about that tongue!

Taking a nap with Unkka Riley...see how they sleep the same?

Ok, more than a month is too long to go without updating the blog. Sorry. SO much has happened since I wrote last...we'll have to summarize some of the good stuff. All in all, it's been a fantabulous month, with growing baby, family visit, mini-vacation to north Iceland, more friends visiting, more baby growing. Let's start at the beginning, and I'll go until I get tired or distracted...

Riley is in Iceland. He came on my birthday, and hung out for a while in Reykjavik before heading to his 'workcamp' in the north of Iceland. General consensus is that he is having the time of his life. Bars in Iceland don't card (he's one year under legal here) and so he has been taking advantage of that little loophole. He watched the final game of the world cup at a bar with a couple of Spanish girls in Akureyri....sure beats sitting around on the couch all day watching TV and eating Mac n Cheeze like last summer, eh little brother? While on a week long break between camps, Riley was kickin' it in Reykjavik, staying in my gracious in-laws' guest room ('Gracious' is an understatement. It is more than the simple and necessary big sister nagging role I occupy so very well when I say my little brother is a lazy slob. If left on his own he would sit in his filthy bed all day eating and watching TV and not talking to anybody. He would pick at his guitar with his chezenip encrusted fingers and get smellier and smellier if nobody told him to move his lazy ass and go breathe some air outside. I know I can say this about him because I am confident he doesn't read this blog, and I am also confident that if he did, he wouldn't read anything that hasn't already been said to his face. I told you, I am a very good nagging older sister. I love you, Riley!) S'anyways. When told to get off his lazy ass so my mega-gracious in-laws could air out his bedroom, my clever (albeit stinky) lil brother went downtown with his guitar to busk for some dough. He did surprisingly well, and seemed to really enjoy himself....He came back with wonderful stories about the Dutch girl who bought him a beer, and the old lady who put in a bunch of money and then winked at him. He now brags that he is a professional musician, a statement to which my ever-gracious symphony musician in-laws smiled politely.

After Riley left for his camp, the rest of the family arrived for their visit. Joy upon joys it was so heavenly happy to see them! (that's not a real sentence, but I was just too happy to see my family, real words and grammar aren't enough to convey the feeling!) Then the showing off of baby and country began. We went to the Blue Lagoon, then did the Golden Circle and went to the summerhouse, and I didn't hold Elsa for ten days...The Fam rented a car and an apartment in Akureyri and stayed there for a week. Tumi, Elsa, and I joined them and spent a lovely week in the northern part of Iceland. We took some day trips to see Husavik and go horseback riding, but the main priority was to relax and get to know the grandparents and uncles. I think that if we are going to live in Iceland (or anywhere else abroad) it is essential that we get to spend some time with my family at least a couple of times a year. It is so hard to see them and then put them on a plane to fly away and not see them again for six months; it would be even harder if I had to put them on a plane and not know when I would be seeing them again! I am convinced that Iceland is the best possible place to raise children, but it would be even more perfect-er if my family was not so very far away. As for now, I can look forward to taking Elsa Maria to the Pacific Northwest for the first time this Christmas. She will meet the extended family and get to see the other half of her heritage :)

Yesterday was a big day for my little family. Tumi told his employer that he would no longer work for them once his paternity leave ends. This decision has been a long time in the making, but basically, my man is not made to be an engineer. We were reminiscing yesterday about the fact that a year ago, he told his boss that he didn't feel a passion for the work he was doing. It is a hard decision to leave such a well-paying job that you've spent so many years being educated to do, but at the end of the day, I am convinced that it was eating his soul to wake up every day and go to a job that didn't fulfill or interest him. So what's next? He is taking classes this fall to become a certified high school math and science teacher (yippee!) and also exploring the world of journalism through a couple of extra courses. He will also be coaching soccer at our local sports association and conducting a weekly pub quiz about soccer. I am so proud that he is making a life for himself that fits better with his interests and personality! I keep thinking of some quote I heard somewhere about how you shouldn't let money dictate what career you choose, because the world doesn't need more miserable rich people...rather you should do what has meaning for you and nourishes your soul, because the world really needs more fulfilled people who get joy from the work they do. Go Tumi!

I bought some wonderful kid's music that Elsa and I have been listening too. I've learned I'm still as big a fan of Raffi's at 25 as when I was four years old. More about that later...cuz... it happened. Elsa woke up and my attention is needed elsewhere!

Snuggly baby in her warmy. Hanging out with Grandpa Frank. Livin the good life!