Letting go...

Just Let Go

Link above is to a nice article in Yoga Journal about letting go.
The steps of detachment:
1: Acknowledgement
2: Self-Inquiry
3: Processing
4: Creative Action
5: Freedom

Detachment is one of the hardest lessons in life, I feel. Perhaps for me, the harder thing to learn is letting yourself become completely absorbed in something- to trust, to have faith, to love. My tendency is to keep my distance, so that part of me is always detached, from everything. But, the tree that stands alone in the field is more easily uprooted in the windstorm. The trees in the forest have each other for support.

From the article: " I have a huge amount of respect for the Zen warrior approach to the inner life, the one in which you heroically renounce your weaknesses and tough out the hard stuff, perhaps using your sense of humor to give you the power to move forward." I identify with this, but it also leaves me drifting over the tops of my emotions and never getting down the weeds to think about how I really FEEL about things. My DH can attest to this!

So, PCS season is here and we bid a "till we meet again" to the friends that we've made, and begin to feel that emptiness in our hearts. Not so many familiar faces around base. Fewer kids at the playgroups. Nobody left to invite to Lulu's birthday party :(

I was just commenting to a friend the other day- "I'm so busy dwelling on everyone that's leaving that I don't have any energy left to welcome the new folks to town."

I guess I'm still acknowledging all the detachment that's taking place. I'll keep you posted on how the "self-inquiry" step is going-

Out and around Osan

The boys riding bikes- the community garden is just behind them. We are nursing along some tomatoes, radishes, potatoes, onions, parsley, mint, peas, peppers, lettuce and a smattering of random flowers. CE doesn't have the water spigot hooked up yet, so we are hand-carrying water to the garden every couple days.

Pics of the family a one of the many fini-flights this past month- Lulu actually LIKES wearing the earmuffs- she's probably realized that having your cheeks squooshed is better than being deafened by a gaggle of F-16s.

Ms. Lu and I exploring the Dragon's Jewel temple with Anna and Jane. LOVELY PEONIES. Ah... reminds me of my wedding boquet... 5 years ago. Amazing how the time has flown; 5 zipcodes and 2 children later... here we are!

My new workout regime consists of carrying Lulu everywhere. So we've done the flight line twice w/ her in the backpack. 6 miles with 25 lbs on my back is certainly a good workout!! This picture is from an afternoon where we explored the trails around Osan. Matt was able to join us and we hiked up to a little temple and gazebo about Pyeongtaek. Nice cool day and a sweet baby cooing in my ear all the way up the hill. What could be better?

Lost in Translation....

Sign seen at Seoul Grand Park:
You may suck your baby here.

Last trip to Everland

Our last trip to Everland, as our membership expires May 11, 2009. We shared the day with Anna and John, our dear neighbors.


E. was quite in awe of the spraying game... this photo was taken before E. realized that he could steer the stream of water. He was delighted to spray anything within 180 degrees- who cares about getting a ball up a track!?!


Ah, yes, the motorized carpet camels. great fun.

And we even found a new ride in a corner of the park we hadn't been to before- E. rode it three times in a row. Up in the trees "just like Daddy's plane."

Gramma and Clayton come to visit!

Gramma and Clayton do a great job of feeding Miss Lulu all sorts of tasty treats... raisin bread, bananas and oatmeal, strawberries, avocado, pears and crackers. yum yum.

We journeyed two hours south of Osan to Jeonju- which is a BIG city. I'm hoping we can get back there to explore more of the sights- there is a large university, a Folk Museum and a paper-making museum. We did get up to a temple on the outskirts of town- Songgongwa-sa. This is a picture of us ladies in front of the temple. They had everything decorated for Buddha's birthday- May 5th- and the trees were just starting to fill with blossoms. Lovely!

Gramma and Clayton at the street market with Lulu. Notice the tree in full bloom behind them- it is a beautiful time of year to be in Korea.

Playing hide and seek with snookums. She continues to be a VERY happy and joyful young lady. We are so delighted to have her in our family.

Happy Easter!!

This year we attended the Easter Egg Hunt that was held at Osan Air Base. The yard in front of Turumi Lodge was filled with eggs for kids of all ages. Ev and Lulu were happy to see lots of eggs and balloons decorating the area.
And...they're off!!! All the kids dashed off to pick up as many eggs as they could fit in their baskets. Then the eggs are traded in for an age-appropriate treat bag... which was filled with many tasty things :) Ev was delighted.
Lulu trying her hand at egg collecting...
Easter dress for Miss Lu.