Mira Matar

After having taken your first overnight train ride last night, you enjoyed another culinary first today: Moose! ...receive  ...chew ...reflect and move forward  Things weny well with the taste test. A first and not a last it seems. So too, the joy of exploration. ...this way ...that way ...wow! It is thrilling to watch you, as you get to know the world around you. It is pure pleasure to be present not only an observer, but as an active parental participant. Wishing you and your sister years of meaningful and exhilarating exploration. Looking forward with anticipation, to continued parental participation. May you and your sister both get to know what is out there in this world of ours, find out how things around you both work, and then (in due course) make your contribution of value. ...Always remembering that the competition in life is only with yourself... as you look to progress daily... towards goals that you set as meaningful.  ...By the way, with setting goals, you are entitled to

I wonder whose temperament you have? How much is genes and how much is environment? As to your genes, we know that it is 50-50 this duo.. We had you up nice and early this morning; so much so that.. There were no cafes open for coffee or breakfast yet! (..not that your expression hinted to anything of that nature..) A delightful breakfast was enjoyed a little later, with your Aunt Oksana; honourary Aunt care of relations with Mum! Before the breakfast, When trudging back up the stairs after our walk, We stopped to enjoy a lovely windowsill. That was before we ended up getting back, And making you a make-shift baby bed. Adapting to circumstances is a necessity in this life. Wishing you and your sister speedy adaptation. Wishing you development of the necessary skills such that there is never a need for mal-adaptation... And such that you can both fly with joy and development in this life. ❤❤❤

The decision to visit your maternal grandfather in hospital meant that inter-city travel was called for. The city gone to was larger than the city left. Consistent with fair assumption, the larger city of Minsk has a more diverse range of options on all levels; not least of which is cuisine! Mum's loving eyes were a bonus share as you slept during our riverside sharing of time. On the way to the next location.. ...it took a while! ...and all the while, in good spirits. Asian cuisine! Plus Lebanese cuisine! Plus Uzbeki cuisine! Could a girl get any luckier! Wishing you and your sister a life filled with new learnings, culinary and otherwise. Wishing you both patience and consistent effort, when things are not easy. Here for your both.. and happy to help make things happen as best as I can. ❤❤❤

Your maternal grandfather had an operation recently. Almost 4 hours drive away from where we live. We imagined up the best possible surprise. Guess? An auspicious start to the day, with you claiming your first apple for the season. Settling in before the drive... Responding to some positivity... A break en route... Mum care... We arrive to a delighted grandfather!!! The greatest surprise is you and your presence. There is no better present! High five! The father-daughter relationship is sacrosanct! Family fun is medication! Medication for the soul! Medication for life! Look up the photo of Einstein))) Dining at a divine Turkish place in the capital. A long and emotion filled day. A day in which your grandfather was left thrilled by the love manifest. A day in which we got to delight in the thrill, and delight in one another time. Wishing you and your sister many delightful days and years ahead. Wishing you both lots of love in all that you do, and with those whom you choose to have clo

We had guests today. A bbq was even held. Friends and relatives dropped by. Notwithstanding... today recaptured what was shared a couple of days back. That is, when I spoke about expressiveness. I was driven today to envision a reframe: "I express, therefore I am". Hmm.. Yes!!! Really?? You beauty!!! Mum, Dad, Relatives: give me your ears! What do you mean it's a bit early for that? Ok, let's dance! The world is a more vibrant place thanks to you and your sister. You both bring your energy to this place, and you share it with good will. May you both continue to gain awareness of yourselves, and understanding with respect to others; lives are enhanced by doing so... Yours and others. 👀❤❤

Happiness at home is a source of wealth. Emotional wealth. A healthy underpinning for all forms of wealth. The nuclear family at home in person... The extended family connecting virtually... May family always be a source of joy (and of strength) for you and your sister. May you always feel the bonds of love and support,  so as to buttress your happiness. May you be inputs in one another's lives, such that your days become even brighter. ❤❤❤

"Expressive and lovable" is how you were described by one of your relatives in Australia. I couldn't agree more. A single day captures more than enough evidence of as much. Focused expressivity of a morning in the garden... ..moments before a flock of starlings swooped in; we managed to get a snap of a few of them before they flew off Expressively deciding on whether to trust or not... (You had your 11 month check-up today) Vibrantly expressive when back outdoors! Expressively playful whilst dining... Wishing you and your sister the gamut of expressions available to a person of awareness and sensitivity. Wishing you both the awareness that you are both loved and lovable. Here for you both always. 💕💕💕

I spoke to a friend today. He is an entrepreneur, an advisor to companies looking to grow rapidly, and a father. He is also an avid learner, who seeks to see the world on a first principles basis. Notwithstanding worldly success on a godly scale, he has issues that cut deep; issues requiring patience, sensitivity and great care. Yet another reminder that health and a mindset of gratitude are gifts that need to be remembered daily. We need to see the beauty in the heat. We need to use the heat for transformation, such that post metamorphosis, reality is an even better version of itself. Life doesn't always smell like roses. Yet: you can always be planting, and later harvesting, golden flowers. Be curious , sew, and reap. Wishing you and your sister awareness early in life. Awareness that hardships are a tool for growth. Awareness that your growth makes you better prepared to help not only yourself but others. You actually become better prepared to add value to this world of ours. 💕

"5 o'clock shadow" refers to an unshaven face late afternoon; and it isn't necessary an allusion to beauty. "Morning shadow" on the contrary is a thing of beauty and joy; shared with you. Morning shadow is a daily highlight. So too is seeing you the joy evoked in you by books. May the shadows in yours and your sisters lives be shadows of beauty. May they evoke wonderful recollections,  or signify magical moments in the hear & now, or may they allude to beauty that is yet to come. 💕💕💕

Your youngest paternal Aunty got married one year ago today; less than a month before your date of birth. It has been a bumper year for the whole family since then. Your life of learning and growing daily is in full flight. You manage to make the mundane fun-dane. And we love this. May anniversaries in yours and your sister's lives be savored and nurtured. May both of you (both) find and create reasons for fun with or without such dates. May both of you lift one another with a word, smile or support always. 💕💕💕