Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Helen snores

Helen is my youngest child. She was also my smallest baby. And she's my only girl. And to top that all off, she's the loudest snorer in the family. I'm grateful to hear her loud snores from down the hall right now while Jonathan and I try to figure out how to sort out all our immigration problems. Just hearing her rhythmic rumbles calms my nerves. On top of that, I feel irritation from today's news about the bombing in Istanbul. It's not only tragic that people lost their lives but it alters my lifestyle in a very real way this time. In the past, when I heard about bombings or shootings I would feel sad about it for a while but then those feelings would go away simply because no one I knew got hurt, or it wasn't nearby. This world is small. I feel like these horrible things can reach anybody anywhere. And I feel like they will soon enough. It doesn't even matter whether I live in Istanbul, Los Angeles or Provo, Utah. They can still reach me. But I don't believe it needs to change the way I treat people.
 Today it happened in really predictable part of Istanbul. Sometimes I go to that part of town. When people visit us, they want to see Sultanahmet, which is where the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque are.
Now when I go there, I'll be thinking about how much time it will take to get in and out of that area without getting bombed. I have happy memories from that area, even though its really a touristy area.


 Just this last time we bought roasted chestnuts there as we were walking along the boxy looking back wall of the Hagia Sophia. It was our first time trying them. The kids inhaled them. Just so you know, if you go to Istanbul, don't get the corn on the cob. It's not great. Get the chestnuts. Those are great! 

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