To my son

Six years ago today, at 12:59pm, my son was born.  These past six years has been filled with his laughter, his smiles, sometimes his tears, but a lot of hugs and kisses too.  He fills me with such love and joy, it's unfathomable.

I'm proud of his achievements, as any parent would be.  I don't boast much of those things as they are benchmarks most children reach in their youth.  I am more touched by the things that make my son uniquely Him.  I love how he tells me that his entire body is his tickle spot.  Or how he wants to show me his entire fleet of Lego ships and explains what each piece does.  Sometimes he'll just run around the house at top speed, perhaps imagining that he's helping to make the world spin.  I'll catch him dancing to music but I can't let him see me watching him or he'll stop dancing.  He still doesn't like his veggies and most fruits but he loves tofu.  I love how he'll reminisce of Japan and say how he misses a friend.  Just out of the blue.  He has a sweetness about him, a wonderful innocence that I don't want to go away.  But then I feel guilty that I should not want for my child to have the experiences that would shape him into the wonderful man that he will become. 

He is a gift from God, a gift to this world, as all children are. And he is mine.  I love you Zelig.  Happy Birthday, my love!

re·pa·tri·ate (r-ptr-t) tr.v. re·pat·ri·at·ed, re·pat·ri·at·ing, re·pat·ri·ates To restore or return to the country of birth, citizenship, or origin

August 3, 2009:  We leave Japan, our home for the past 5 years.  13 hours later we are back in the good ole "U" "S" of "A".  We make our way to our new community in Georgia, looking forward to a new life, new friends and new adventures.

July 20, 2010:  I've cast my first vote as a citizen of my little town in Georgia.  I'm planning a birthday party for Zelig.  I gave our new dog, Sparkles, her heart worm medicine and applied caps to our cats nails.  I made a tasty meal tonight using vegetables from my garden.  I didn't have the opportunity to cut up the Armenian Yard Long cucumber.  I tell my friends that I'm still settling in although I'm feeling very settled.  There is so much to do with this house but I have time.  I'm not rushed.  I have at least 19 years to get it all done!

This one's for Kim

It was asked recently of me what life is like outside of the military.  Good question and for me, a hard one to answer.  My only experience with the military was the 5 1/2 years in Japan.  Those that have lived at more duty stations, overseas or CONUS, will know better than me the differences of living in the "real" world.  But of course I have put much thought into this question and the one answer that I can think of is "freedom".

Funny that as American citizens dependent on an active duty service member, we lacked certain freedoms that most civilians take for granted.  Whether you live on or off a military base, overseas or CONUS, our lives were restricted by boundaries and limits.  We had curfews, limits of speech, dress codes too.  Access of care and services had limits as well.  And of course, there's the military I.D.  Soon after arriving in our new town, for but a few seconds, I would panic as I searched for my I.D. before going into Walmart.  That was an easy habit to break.

Of course there are perks to being a military dependent, I'm not denying that.  But I'd rather give up shopping at the commissary and using 6 month, out of date coupons, for the right to say what I want and not worry about the reprisal on my spouse or myself. 

Finally, Buford Highway Farmer's Market!

There is something to be said about living in the country.  Last night I was able to enjoy a beautiful spring night sky with a few friends, something I couldn't have done, at least not as well, if we lived closer to the city.  We saw spring constellations and stars such as Orion, Leo, Sirius, and Gemini.  We even saw two satellites racing through the sky!  But that also means that we miss out on the wonderful opportunities of living in the city such as diverse dining opportunities, entertainment venues and anonymity.  We're only 30-45 minutes away from all of that so it's really not a hardship.  And considering how spread out and diverse the Atlanta metro area is, we can enjoy the diversity without even having to go into the city at all.

That means, I can get my Asian fix by heading up to Doraville, GA.  This area is basically a conglomeration of Asian cultures and businesses, mostly Korean and Vietnamese, with strings of strip malls lining Buford Highway.  Korean barbeque, hot pot and bibimba are offerings at these many restaurants as well as vietnamese pho.  This also means that grocery stores are nearby and that includes the Buford Highway Farmer's Market. 

The market is huge.  Huge!  It's not much to look at on the outside but on the inside, it's huge!  But considering that it's an international market, it would have to be large to accommodate the all the various food stuffs to satisfy the diverse cultures that live around Atlanta.  Now, ethnic grocery stores abound in and around the city, but it's nice to have a place like BFM that's large and clean where we can shop around the globe in a comfortable setting while enjoying samples too!

Photography isn't allowed in the store but I took a few quick photos anyway.  I wish I had taken photos of their seafood section. I would love to show you the cases filled with live crayfish, the seven different types of shrimp, as well as the other shellfish selections and the live fish.  The smell wasn't offensive which means they make sure their products are fresh and their space is clean.  There is also a butchery too but for some reason, I'm never impressed with meat.  But their produce selection, WOW!

  Various root type vegetables

 

 Just a small section of their green vegetables.  There is another display of more leafy green vegetables including snow pea leaves and others that I have never seen before!

 There are at least 10 varieties of eggplant on this table!  There are more on the curve of the table that you can't see.

 

Of course, there is always the snack section.  It's always one of the first places I check out when I go to any Asian grocery store.  Do they have my favorite candies?  Well, no KitKat bars but they do have other yummy goodies such as Hokkaido chocolate cheese candy, (oishii), Crunky, gummy marshmallows and yes, they even have Hi-Chus!!

 

 

YAY!  Hi-Chews!?

A few of their salad dressings.  They do have the Pietro brand including the sesame miso flavor and soy sauce flavor.  FYI: In the upper left corner of this photo is a bottle of yuzu juice.  I should have bought one but it was $20!  So I bought wasabi/yuzu dressing instead.

 This is a cold case in the Eastern European section.  It's an incredible selection of caviars, pickled fish and one of my new favorites, cold smoked fish!

I'm going to go back to BFM soon.  The shrimp and mushroom dumplings that we had brought over to our friends house last night got left in our car and, well, you get the picture.  The car doesn't smell bad at all which is a good thing and I get to go back to the market to replace the dumplings which is a better thing!  So if there is anything anyone needs, please let me know.  And btw: they have great crispy tostadas and an almost complete selection of dried chilies too!