The Evening Good News

You know how sometimes it seems like you just get one piece of bad news after another? Well, not today! Because when I say this, I am actively omitting everything I hear on the actual news, and because the stars are lining up nicely for many of my friends and loved ones, I find myself in a situation where I keep getting one piece of good news after another. It’s great! So, ready yourselves for some unnecessary exclamation points, ladies and germs…here comes the good news!

Jim’s sister and her husband have adopted a baby girl. Just like that- Naomi has a new cousin, and we a new niece. We have seen her already through the magic of Skype. Naomi calls Jim’s mom “Ah-ma” and after we saw her on the computer with the new baby, Rachel, Naomi would periodically, throughout the day, say, “Ah-ma, Baby.” Hee. Rachel will be one month old in a few days. Teeny!

Jim’s other sister and her husband, who are living in Canada now, have bought a house! We don’t have many details yet and I am sure they are feeling a little overshadowed by teeny Baby Rachel, but it is still great news for a couple of M’sian transplants looking to put down roots in Canada. Oh, Canada!

My own personal sister had recently been diagnosed with skin cancer, and has since had all of it removed and is apparently none the worse for wear. Hooray!

My other sister and her husband and kids returned this month from a ten-day trip to Washington DC. The kids are just at the right age to get the most out of this trip (13 and 10), they got to stay with our wonderfully gracious aunt and uncle in Maryland, and they never, ever take vacations. Knowing all of this about the trip had me completely jazzed for them, and of course, the trip was a big success. Welcome home!

Another pair of good friends in Chicago have put a bid on a condo, and are waiting to hear whether all their fix-up demands are going to be met. I don’t think I am jumping the gun in considering this good news, as they have been mulling over becoming landed gentry for a while now, and it is so good that it is happening for them. From all descriptions, the condo rocks. Good job, C and B!

We got a piano!

Our friends in St. Paul had a lovely baby girl, Eleanore Marie, just before we got back to MN for a visit. And they had their house totally redone. Crazy! Congratulations, D and R! Incidentally, nearly everyone in MN seems to be expecting a child. Good for you all!

None of the great news is really ours (other than the piano), but having so much good news in just a few weeks makes it feel like things are going great for us, too. Naomi has started in her new class at “school.” She is a little early in moving up, and is smaller than everyone else, although one of her baby class compatriots who moved up at the same time has the same not-quite-there hair in a blonde shade, so Naomi is not the baldest looking toddler in her class. Heh. She seems to really like it, although every day when I ask her what she did in school, she says “Water.” I don’t know what that means, exactly.

OK, some of the good news is ours- Naomi’s friend Carmen brought over matching rainbow ponchos made by a friend of her mom. Thanks, Carmen’s mom’s friend! These ponchos are the bomb!