Hope Elephants

If you want to go to a super cool, very inspiring place that will restore your faith in human beings, let me recommend Hope Elephants.  My sister and I and our kids got to go there with our Mom and it was amazing.

Hope Elephants is in Hope, Maine (near Camden).  It is the home of a local vet, Jim Laurita, who also happens to have had a childhood career as a circus juggler where, 40 years ago, he met two young elephants by the name of Rosie and Opal.  About a year ago, Jim outfitted his back yard and overhauled his barn to make space for these same elephants (now long since retired) to come and live out their senior years under his devoted care.

As their website states, "Hope Elephants is the only facility in the US where elephants receive daily state-of-the-art medical and physical therapy and nutritional support."  As a visitor you sign up in predetermined time slots and move as a group to the see the elephants, learn all about them and get to ask lots of questions.  It is not a petting zoo and you do not touch the elephants but you do get to see them up close.  Their primary goal is care of these aged, injured elephants and a heartfelt message about conservation. If our world doesn't do something to stop illegal poaching, by 2020 the elephant population will be eradicated.  That doesn't seem possible but it is true.

They also have a friendly pet cat that Ella really fancied.

In the little store they sell "Packy Poo" which is elephant poop fertilizer.  It's supposed to be the bomb.

Here are Rosie and Opal, two Asian elephants who worked in the circus industry for over 40 years.  They have some injuries, including Rosie's partially paralyzed trunk and Opal's joint deterioration.

Rosie and Opal are Asian elephants.  They are smaller than African elephants and can withstand the cold temperatures of a Maine winter.  Jim said that last year when it snowed they were so excited to get out in the snow roll around in it.  They like to make snowballs with their trunks.

This is Jim. He is way cool.

As a form of physical therapy, they took a mooring ball (like the kind that are inflated and used to mark boat moorings), slit some holes in it and stuffed it with carrots.  She has to throw the ball around with her trunk to get the carrots out which is, of course, the reward for her hard work.

Their inside accommodations.  The floor is comprised of heated sand to be extra cushioned on their aging feet and legs.

This is the size of an elephant tooth.  It must weigh 25-30 pounds.

I asked Jim if he can over go away overnight and leave the elephants unattended.  He said no, that they are much too curious and easily bored.  They have to constantly monitor them and see that they don't get into trouble.  He has a baby monitor to hear their activities when he is in his house.  Sounds like having two massive Mayas on your hands.

In their education room they have a huge poster of an elephant and you can measure yourself up against it and mark how tall you are by comparison.

Maya put me down by the ankle.  She is such a prankster.

My mom with her grandkids.  What a great way to spend a sunny fall afternoon!  Thanks Mom for such a cool outing.

the biggest thank you ever

I will admit it.  I've been a little crispy around the edges. I am ready for graduation to commence (or I'm ready, as my favorite line from Grease goes:  "for the commencement of commencement to commence.")  I know to anyone else it seems like what is the big deal, you are down to day (days!) but let me tell you these are some seriously slow moving days.  

Maya would agree.  Each morning it is the same: "Where's Mommy?" in an accusing tone.  "At the hospital..."  I answer cautiously.  

"Ugggggghhhhhh!" is the deep, guttural response each and every morning.  

One such morning last week, she got up early enough to say good-bye to Sandi and the pre-dawn dark and watch her pull out of our driveway.    I came around the corner to see her dabbing her tears with her security blanket.  It was the sweetest, most heart-breaking sight.

After a bunch of loves and snuggles, we got up and made a Post-it note countdown on the closet door.    I think it was at 25 days. 

It has felt like we might never climb to the top.

And truly graduation is a momentous milestone for sure but it is really taking and passing the boards that will signal the end of this journey and a return to some normal life when adults get to have real conversation, family recreational time is reborn and the general edge of tension leaves our house.  It is not a guest I will be sorry to see depart.

So it is with a heavy heart that I drove to Beals last week to work all day.  Sandi has Fridays for studying and she was able to schlep the kids so I could go solo.  I was feeling burdened by the last 2+ years, feeling like graduation would never arrive.  I was waiting for relief to pour over me at our closing the gap but instead feeling entirely burned out.  Rather than flag waving victory toward the finish line, I felt like our family was limping along, bruised and battered to the end.

I come home after a 12 hour day and Maya gives me a quick hug and says, oddly, "Did you leave a light on in the office?"

"Umm...no.  I just walked in the door."

"I think SOMEONE left a light on," she says.

Ella looks at Maya with disdain and says, "NO MAYA!"

I'm very confused at this point.  What is happening in the office??

Maya says we should go investigate.  Ella huffs.  Sandi says go ahead. I can hear music playing and, as indicated, there is a light on.

I walked into the office to find my desk, the one normally piled with a mountain of papers and books awaiting my attention, completely empty except for some cards, a gift, a gorgeous flower arrangement and a NEW MACBOOK AIR!  On this lithe, technological dream-come-true was paying this song  (which, oddly enough I had just heard the week before on Pandora and loved).  Maya crawled onto my lap and handed me my cards which were the sweetest, most touching cards I had ever received.  I promptly burst into tears.

Just look at that thing.  It has all the memory I need, it doesn't bring up weird applications when I try to write a capital "R" and it has an attachable cd port so I can use iTunes for audiobooks again!  AND Sandi had spent the day taking all my stuff off my handicapped PC, reformatting it for MAC and loading it all on my laptop.  It is so light and portable and I can use it anywhere in the house which will make accomplishing everything easier!  Now if I can just learn how to use it I will be golden.

(Also, if I can stop saying that I got a Nike Airbook it will also improve my new Mac image.  I can't help it- in my head "Nike" and "Air" are forever joined.  Matt told me he would get me a swoosh sticker for laptop decoration.)

  "Momma thank you for helping us for the past two years.  Momma thank you for being able to work for our family. You deserve it totally! Thank you! Love, your most ever loved Ella."

 "Momma, you're the best.  I love you more than you love me.  Love, Maya.  I love Momma."

Graduation is 2 weeks from today.  Sandi and I had a long overdue date last night in which the only requirement was good food, good wine and no one whining or crying or complaining or rejecting the food while we tried to have a conversation.  Sitting across from Sandi, over all of the above,  I was struck by how much I adore her and how proud I am of us that, despite the toll, we are together and in love.  I cannot believe the sheer effort, labor and dedication Sandi has given to achieve this massive goal. I stand in awe at all that I have managed and juggled, sacrificed and withstood.  I am amazed at the brave and willing hearts of our girls. 

 It is starting to feel real, achievable, inevitable.  The taking (and passing) of the boards will hopefully follow within 2 weeks.  Sandi will begin work and when she isn't working a normal shift in O.R. she will be OURS again.  We have Thanksgiving and Christmas and a long awaited trip to Disney to plan.

 Let the bruised and weary begin to celebrate.

what a witch and a cowgirl have in common

For Halloween this year we decided to step up our pumpkin carving.  While we waited for Sandi to print templates for really cool designs, Maya did some quick Sharpie magic on her pumpkin to test the fine knife skills of her mothers.  Her design was complete with stitches (!) and fine eyebrows.  Luckily once she saw what Sandi had to offer, she willingly wiped her pumpkin slate clean with a cotton ball of isopropyl alcohol. 

Unfortunately it is still a bit too precarious for the girls to wield our super-sharp fishing knives (which, let's face it are necessary to cut the thick skin of a pumpkin) but the gooey scooping holds its own appeal.

I can remember back just three years ago things looked pretty different....

 And because I can't resist- and I apologize because I think I may do this every Halloween- there must be a reference point when discussing Halloween costumes.  Two years in a row we dressed the kids in matching, stuffed costumes our friend Elisa made for her kids and we got to use as Halloween hand-me-downs.  They were so cute the first year that we couldn't resist the second year.

Except the second year we got a bit carried away with Ella's bunting...

And she had to be carried house to house (thanks Sam),

until eventually she got too tired and had to rest.

On a friend's couch.  (Poor Ella.  My stomach hurts from laughing at these pictures every time I see them.)

So each Halloween since the fateful evening of being over bunted, Ella bases her costume selection on two variables: beauty and speed.  This year it was a pretty witch.  And, as foretold, Maya was a cowgirl.  For weeks in response to the question of what she wanted to be for Halloween, Maya would reply: "I want to be whatever Momma is going to be."  I considered how I would dress her as myself. What would that be Danskos and some sort of scarf would be a must but what else?  Jeans and some layered shirts from Old Navy?  The question made me feel slightly insecure and made me want to reconsider my wardrobe.   I tried to convince her to dress up as an anesthetist but she wasn't into it.

The cowgirl boots for her birthday sealed the deal.  And really, don't Maya and a lasso just sort of go together?

And, as in every other year, we met up with Skyler and Reed for some candy collecting.  What a motley crew they are!  Sandi, Emilie and I sat in the warm van on this very wet Halloween night and crept along as they garnished candy from around our neighborhood, yelling, "Don't forget to say thank you!'  Yet another plus to having older kiddos.

birthday fun

Welcoming in Maya's 6th birthday started in the usual birthday manner at our house:  the moms set an alarm for 3:30 to wake to blow up helium balloons so that they would last all day.  As the two of us bleary-eyed, devoted mommies staggered around tying and curling ribbon, Sandi said, "Next year let's spring for Mylar."  Yes, please, let's do just that.

I have to say, it is all worth it to see the birthday girl's face when the kitchen is decorated for her special day.  (We celebrated Maya's birthday on Sunday when we were all home instead of the actual day since it is during the school week.  We did take her out for pancakes for dinner on her actual birthday - her choice- but the gifts and special day were a few days early.) 

Note how very dark it is outside still.  Early risers, plus delayed sunrise of late October makes for very dark mornings.  But who says you need daylight for birthday presents?

Maya is often hard to shop for because she is entertained much more by interaction more than with play objects.  She is just as apt to find amusement in a stack of measuring cups (as long as we are cooking or using them as a pawn in a rock band) than by a new toy.  But this year she had told us that she wanted pattern blocks like the ones at school and we decided on cowgirl boots to go with her Halloween costume (and, of course, beyond).

As usual, Maya's expressions didn't disappoint.

Ella gave her an SD card for her Innotab game so she could save pictures. She was wowed.

Her biggest reaction was to her the big-girl locket which she has been hinting that she wants.  Ella has one that she got in kindergarten with pictures of our family in it and, naturally, Maya wanted one too.  She adores it and wears to school every day so she "won't miss my family so much."  (How cute is that?)

After lunch four of her friends came over for Rice Krispy Treats (no cake or ice cream for this girl) and to go play at the Maine Jump- the home of umpteen bounce houses and inflatable obstacle courses.  It is so cute to watch Maya with her school friends.  And four friends is just the right amount of friends.  Maya got all things crafty for her birthday and has been busy working on an endless loop of projects which she leaves all over the house and charges us real money to purchase her one-of-a-kind creations.

I don't know exactly when Sandi took this picture of me and Maya but I cannot tell you how much I love it.  It was one of those treasures I found when I uploaded the camera card. Happy, happy birthday to our baby.  We are so proud of you, but could you slow down the growing up a little please?