Georgia On My Mind

Of all the weddings, holidays and events I’ve missed this past year, being away for the birth of my first niece has been by far the hardest, for I will never get to hold her in my arms as a miniature pipsqueak. Georgia Elizabeth Grant was born (as a baby) at 2:43pm on Monday February 2, 2009 tipping the scale at a whopping 8 lbs and 17 ½”. My sister promised to call as soon as she was on her way to the hospital; so for the past week my heart would skip a beat every time the phone rang (which occurs on an average of 1.2 times/day – THEE text book definition of one who is in high demand.) Nevertheless, I did receive a few calls throughout the actual day of birth with updates and when the actual bundle arrived; my mother was so excited to be a grandma that she had forgotten to even ask what the name was. When I checked my email the following day, I immediately got tears in my eyes. Being away during Katie’s entire pregnancy made the whole situation surreal and now here was a picture of my niece, who I will not get to meet for 17 months. Furthermore, she was given my name - who knew how honored and proud that could make you feel? Needless to say, I’m ecstatic to finally be a matusa!

February 2^nd not only brought stork deliveries but it also brought water back into my life. On Friday night, the water went out like usual, and having a few guests over my water jug reserves went fairly quickly. In attempt to be a decent hostess, I got up to make coffee and breakfast but to no avail the water remained nonexistent. After waiting a couple of hours, we grew parched and headed into town. There’s nothing like washing your face and brushing your teeth in a public eating establishment. These truck stop routines conveniently continued throughout the entire weekend. Thus creating an opportunity for my first trip to the neighborhood well, which coincidently happened to also be my virgin well experience. Okay, FACT: I have been to a well before but not to retrieve water that I had to haul home. It was an exciting new experience, especially because all surfaces within a 5 foot radius were covered in ice. So between winding the chain up, dumping the bucket o’ water into my jugs and struggling to remain standing, I’d say... sign me up again. Luckily, this weekend was also Campulung Moldovenesc’s Serbarile Zapezii (snow festival) and provided more than an ample amount of entertainment to distract us. I mean…with horses, outdoor concerts, fireworks and a visit by our very own Native Americans (who are strangely on the Romanian Festival circuit), how could it not?