Sitting at a table at the Golden Gate Chinese restaurant near our house, waiting for our order. There are much better chinese food places, but the food is cheap here… Continue reading “Chinese Food, Christmas, and Getting Ready for a Trip”
Driving home from Pennsylvania
We spent Thanksgiving up on the outskirts of Philadelphia with the Pinkney family. It was at times strained and tense, but overall, it was a really nice trip. Highlights of course included dinner at her grandparent’s Barbara and Nathan, a discussion on homosexuals as a social group, and getting to see Life of Pi at the 309 AMC.
I woke up much later than I wanted to. Tamika and I had stayed up to watch the cliffhanging episode (what episode isn’t) of The Walking Dead, but by the time I was about to turn in; it was already 2am.
It almost seems inevitable; every day that winds up being my bedtime. It’s very frustrating. We’ve already identified that the bulk of our frustrations with life come from not getting enough sleep, and yet…
Tamika and I had agreed the night before that we wanted to hit the road by noon, but at 11:20 I hand only just gotten myself; so that wasn’t going to happen. I had a bunch of Zerflin work to get done before we headed out (a review of a Baseball website and some work on a 3D house), so I got through that as quick as I could and helped Tamika fold clothes and get the car packed.
The roads were pretty clear. So after a stop at the Wawa for some gas, a turkey club and a chai, we were on our way. We made decent time, and other than getting blown around on the bridge a bit, it was pretty uneventful. I finally got Waze and the iPhone’s Podcast app to work together, so we were able to listen to Radio Lab, This American Life and The Moth on the ride home.
I dove back into Zerflin work when we got home; and the kids drew on the iPad and played with some glowsticks they got. Tamika was exhausted, so she’s upstairs taking a nap now. Going to try to get dinner ready soon. Salmon, I think. And rice.
Tamika, surprised with her new birthday present, a pearl & blue Epiphone acoustic/electric guitar. #youngsavage #birthday #epiphone
http://instagr.am/p/ILg3zGs6wb/
Tamikaday
I thought the world was bright
My amber sun a glorious item
Living my life like it’s golden
Until your eyes lit me up
And nothing
could compare
To you
I thought life was melodious
Grand forests my choir
Waterstrewn pebbles my melody
Until you laughed
And now I know
Nothing
can compare
To you
Your smile is genuine, radiant girl
Your eyes like sparks, darting and bright
Your limbs glowing cinnamon umber
Brown skin, you know I love your brown skin
And I want some of your Brown Sugar…
But not in the way D’Angelo meant it
Though I gets high off your love,
I’m lost without you
Can’t help myself
How does it feel…
Your mind is physical
Love is spiritual
Life is beautiful
Just like oil on my hands
Only to love you
I wanna get closer
Like Maxwell, Flack & Hathaway
You’re my Orange Moon
And my summer rain
And I know I haven’t told you lately
But your my very special lady
You give me butterflies, inside
Both the Jackson and Floetry kind
Unlike Macy… I don’t even try
‘Cause I have no interest in stumbling
Or saying goodbye
You keep me steady on my feet
Feet that let me walk up behind you
And kiss you
On your neck
And breathe…
…
Our emotions can grow
If we let them go
And loose ourselves
Inside a world of
Future Love Paradise
Personality with witty charm
And just enough gentleness
Your my Strength, Courage & Wisdom
My one true happiness
I never knew a luh–
luhluh
A love like this
You’ve got to be something for me to write this
So if it’s not to much to say
Within your arms I’m born again
With the lights down low
And the window curtain closed
And if you’ll love me when my hair turns grey
Then everytime I hold you
I’ll hold you like it’s the last time
Whenever Wherever Whatever
I’ve just got to be
Got to be
Got to be down
I just want you around
I just need you around
I just want you around
I just need you around
I just want you around
I really need you around
And nothing
can compare
To you
I love you, Tamika. Happy Birthday.
I performed this in 2017 at Acoustic Thursdays at Peace And A Cup Of Joe
Why I love Tamika: she gives me hugs
Lately, I’ve been pulling 19-20 hour days, just trying to get everything done.
Last night, I got home late from a meeting with Bourbon Coffee, which was further exacerbated by a Mercedes doing an oscillatory dance between a 3-ton truck and a Kia right at the I-95 Northbound exit off of 459.
Tamika just needed to talk, because the kids had been driving her up a wall all day long. I listened quietly, and then our conversation spilled into finances. With a lot of help; we’ve been slowly digging ourselves out of our financial difficulties by surviving on a shoestring budget. But that has been taking it’s toll. Tamika wished we could afford a babysitter, and wondered about what our future was.
After a while, the conversation subsided. I glanced at the clock. It was 11:30.
I got up silently and went downstairs.
Tamika followed me, and quietly sat in the chair next to my desk.
“Why are you working?” she asked softly.
I stared at the screens for a moment while programs fluttered open. “It’s all I know how to do.” I replied, “It’s all I can think of to help out.”
Tamika got up, and took my head in her hands and held me close. We must have stayed like that for a half an hour. She just held my tight, played with my hair, rubbed my back, and smoothed out the lines of worry on my head.
She kissed me, then headed upstairs. A little while later, she came back down with a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows and vanilla ice cream in it.
“Don’t stay up too late.” she smiled.
I love my wife.
Arion is here
1/6/9 11:30pm
Time has become a blur. We came in at 12:30am this morning when one of the membranes broke. The water was broken by the midwife at about noon.
They’re slowly decreasing the epidural. She had stayed off of it until about 8pm (about 15 hours!), when the pain became too much to bear. I’m so proud of her.
We both slept for a while after they gave her the epidural, and now I’m wide awake.
Arion is certainly taking his time, but we’re content not to rush him. His heart rate has been steady, a pulsing whoomp whoomp whoomp through the speakers of the monitoring machine.
Outside, a huge storm has raged for almost 24 hours… Rain pelting the window in whooshing gusts.
We’re all praying for you, little man.
1/7/9 6:45pm
Tamika and Arion are asleep, finally.
Shortly after I got done writing, Margaret, the midwife, called me over to help hold Tamika.
I have been extremely impressed with their practice. They have included me in every way possible during the pregnancy. There’s nothing worse than feeling completely helpless while the person whom you love the most in the world goes through the worst pain of her life.
Margaret purposefully used me in every way she could, moving Tamika around, calming her down, and helping keep things organized & plugged in.
I help hold Tamika and counted as she pushed. It was pretty rough. Arion wasn’t turning correctly. But finally, after a whole hour, his head appeared. The cord was wrapped around his neck!
Thankfully, Margaret had warned Tamika that she might tell her to stop pushing at certain points, and she did so now.
With a quick move, Margaret deftly unwrapped the cord, and in the same motion, easily slipped him out.
All this with him upside down, and without any tearing (which means no painful recovery for Tamika, which we had to go through with Nya).
And, all this after 24 hours of very very patient care.
Margaret never left us. She stayed the whole time, and never pushed Tamika in a direction that wasn’t helpful.
At 12:30am, January 7th, at 7lbs. 6oz., 20 inches long, Arion Joseph Iyutin Jancewicz was born.
He is bright eyed, like his sister, and incredibly calm and composed. He fusses only when he’s hungry, and is just relaxed the rest of the time.
I am so proud of Tamika. I am so happy with my family.
About his name.
Arion (pronounced like Orion, but with an A) is named both after the constellation and a Greek poet and musician who was captured by pirates and rescued by dolphins.
I’ve always liked Orion, Tamika loves dolphins, and we wanted his name to begin with the letter A after Tamika’s mom Angel. Nya shares my mom’s initial, Norma Jean.
Joseph comes from the Bible story. Almost all the men in my family (me, my father, my great grandfather) have the middle name Joseph, which stems from my great-great grandfather (Jozef Jancewicz).
Iyutin is a Naskapi name, which means Wind. It’s pronounced “E-you-tin”.
I’m off to bed. 🙂
Thanks for all your prayers…
