Life is a lot to manage, at times, and we are all tested along the way, particularly in our primary relationships. Marriage is a great gift but a bit of a maze, as well, at times as we try to fill our own lives and passions while caring for the person who shares the journey and life with us.
I know how much Shakun and I struggle, at times, to find that balance and keep our marriage real and honest while, at the same time, challenging each other and not losing the cord that connects us. We are both so thankful that we have our three children to keep us bound together in mutual adoration and affection of these holy creatures...
Ez, we know is now gone on the other side of the earth's shadow up into the High Sierras. We're so happy for him as it's what he wanted, this form of isolation and intense community. He'd been reading Thoreau at NMH his Junior year and wanted the challenge of finding out some simple, hard truths for himself at college.
Plus, he is a natural for the intense leadership responsibilities that DSC offers and depends upon. He'll have plenty of time to read Plato, Locke and Tolkien while doing his daily chores, learning how to herd cattle and help manage the college. He is definitely following his own drummer in this life and we expect he will meander for a few years ahead in finding his way and purpose in life.
After two years of DSC, Ez may head to one of the East Coast universities to complete his education (ala Obama...) and become fully bicoastal, or balance his new desert world with East Coast urbanity. No doubt, Ez already has a beautiful soul, these years are simply to find his meaning, settle some youthful questions and create his independence.
In that regard, Ez and Josh are quite different. Josh is so happy to be here w/ us in the family home for the summer, watching 'Bambi' on his computer w/ Leah, helping Shakun with her website design, working in a local Tamang NGO on ethnic rights, building an innovative, organic greenhouse in the backyard, buying a new motorcycle and hanging out with his childhood friends here in Kathmandu.
Josh is totally loyal to Nepal and doesn't even want to hear me talk of spending a few years in the States. He's his mother's son and devoted to her, her causes and the Nepali side of his life. Although going back to Georgetown at the end of August, he hasn't really settled in the US in a deep way. He enjoys his studies on South Asia politics and governance, but his heart is still fully in the Himalaya and our home.
For now, Josh says that he is coming 'home' to Nepal to start up his own businesses when he graduates (after spending a Junior year at SOAS in London to stretch his wings and watch football games...). Josh's good and kind heart is right here, near us and on our land.
As for Leah, she is in love with her new kitten, Coaby, who sleeps with her and Leah protects from the dogs, especially, Sumi, in the yard. Her summer camp is over, so she has more time at home with Gita and Laxmi, her two 'didis' and dear, older sister friends. Like Josh, Leah, too, is a real homebody. She wants us to buy a beach house in America (ala Hannah Montana...), but still insists that we never sell this home, the only home she has ever had.
Funny, this sense of home that envelopes us as we're busy doing other things...
Funny, rich, satisfying and profoundly fulfilling...
I know how much Shakun and I struggle, at times, to find that balance and keep our marriage real and honest while, at the same time, challenging each other and not losing the cord that connects us. We are both so thankful that we have our three children to keep us bound together in mutual adoration and affection of these holy creatures...
Ez, we know is now gone on the other side of the earth's shadow up into the High Sierras. We're so happy for him as it's what he wanted, this form of isolation and intense community. He'd been reading Thoreau at NMH his Junior year and wanted the challenge of finding out some simple, hard truths for himself at college.
Plus, he is a natural for the intense leadership responsibilities that DSC offers and depends upon. He'll have plenty of time to read Plato, Locke and Tolkien while doing his daily chores, learning how to herd cattle and help manage the college. He is definitely following his own drummer in this life and we expect he will meander for a few years ahead in finding his way and purpose in life.
After two years of DSC, Ez may head to one of the East Coast universities to complete his education (ala Obama...) and become fully bicoastal, or balance his new desert world with East Coast urbanity. No doubt, Ez already has a beautiful soul, these years are simply to find his meaning, settle some youthful questions and create his independence.
In that regard, Ez and Josh are quite different. Josh is so happy to be here w/ us in the family home for the summer, watching 'Bambi' on his computer w/ Leah, helping Shakun with her website design, working in a local Tamang NGO on ethnic rights, building an innovative, organic greenhouse in the backyard, buying a new motorcycle and hanging out with his childhood friends here in Kathmandu.
Josh is totally loyal to Nepal and doesn't even want to hear me talk of spending a few years in the States. He's his mother's son and devoted to her, her causes and the Nepali side of his life. Although going back to Georgetown at the end of August, he hasn't really settled in the US in a deep way. He enjoys his studies on South Asia politics and governance, but his heart is still fully in the Himalaya and our home.
For now, Josh says that he is coming 'home' to Nepal to start up his own businesses when he graduates (after spending a Junior year at SOAS in London to stretch his wings and watch football games...). Josh's good and kind heart is right here, near us and on our land.
As for Leah, she is in love with her new kitten, Coaby, who sleeps with her and Leah protects from the dogs, especially, Sumi, in the yard. Her summer camp is over, so she has more time at home with Gita and Laxmi, her two 'didis' and dear, older sister friends. Like Josh, Leah, too, is a real homebody. She wants us to buy a beach house in America (ala Hannah Montana...), but still insists that we never sell this home, the only home she has ever had.
Funny, this sense of home that envelopes us as we're busy doing other things...
Funny, rich, satisfying and profoundly fulfilling...
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