India Trip, Oct 4 - Queen Esther's 84

Mom wasn't feeling well on her birthday, but was able to rally for an evening birthday party. The picture to the right -if you're looking at this blog upside down or the picture to the left if you have your seat in your chair & your feet on the ground :-) shows Biju presenting the cake she baked. Biju is explaining that each of the center candles are, "20, 20, 20, 20" and the extra one on the outside is '4' :-).

We enjoyed time around the table with Mom telling stories, laughing and enjoying each other. Biju's 3 daughters came, plus Yoseph, his brother Abdul and his uncle Chhedi. All of them having served the Crider or the Smith households over the years (except for Biju's daughters).

This picture shows Marietta playing her keyboard for the first time since June. Mom, Esther, requested a few songs as a birthday present & Marietta rose to the occasion. She insisted that Dana sing while she played.

I feel like I'm a part of history here as the sisters get reacquainted and bond.

India Trip, October 2 - Gandhi's Birthday a Nat'l holiday

After about a 5 hour train ride with kids from Woodstock and an hour taxi ride up the mountain we were greeted by Judy Crider. Once again a Crider was a welcome sight. Mom, as anticipated, did not enjoy the taxi ride up the hill. It is a unique form of driving where the horn joins the gas, brake & steering wheel as an essential tool for driving. The horn, as I figured, is the voice of the vehicle saying, "I'm here and I'm going around you be ready!". Then that is exactly what they do. We climbed from 1800 feet to 6500 in that hour span and the view was amazing!

It was good to see the sisters reunited on the porch. Marietta was sitting out on the porch the sun behind her creating a halo effect with her hair. Mom was a bit taken aback at how she looked -- older & more frail.

We were immediately taken care of by Vijay (pronouced "B jew") & Yousef (Joseph in English) with water and chairs to sit in on the porch. They work wonders around this place and help things run smoothly. Such a blessings to the Criders & Marietta as well.

We had some soup & grilled cheese sandwiches before heading up to our room for a short nap. The short nap turned out longer than what was recommended, but we made it to supper sure 'nough. We ended the evening around the Clavinova keyboard....Mom kicking out songs from memory and the rest of us trying to remember the words :-)

Going to India

LEFT: Mom 'Packing' yesterday :-) .... RIGHT: are the sisters in 1995. Esther, my mom, on the left & Marietta

I POSTED THIS LAST WEEK, BUT AM MOVING IT UP TO THE TOP BECAUSE TODAY'S THE DAY WE LEAVE -- WOO HOO!!!

A week from tomorrow I'm going to India...taking my mom to see her sister. They are both in their 80's & I know this trip is going to be a hoot.

I've created this blog so I can share the experience....

concerns:

-Getting there = LONG flight, long train ride &, from what I've heard, a wild taxi ride up the mountain

-altitude = live at 105 feet & going to 6,500 feet --- (Woodstock School)

-coming off a few strenuous weeks at work (think I'll sleep for a couple days upon arrival at that 6,500 feet destination :-)

looking forward to:

-time
....to get to know my extended family better
.....to rest & ponder
...to "smell the roses"

-making memories with my mom

-being immersed in another culture again

Can't wait. Let's get going Mom.

Thanks to the generous Mitchell clan for making this trip possible!!!