Christmas Letter for 1999
Greetings and Salutations!
(Jane here.) We have a lot to catch up on! Two YEARS have passed, and many attempts and good intentions thwarted, but I think, finally, we are ready, with the proverbial machete in hand, to cut away the brush of time and distance between us, and make contact.
We made it! We're living in Homer, Alaska. First later than expected, then earlier than planned, but the stories are long and tiresome, so suffice it to say that we are HOME, in our own corner of paradise, and as I speak, the sun is glinting off the snow-capped mountains across the bay, DeWaine is taking a walk to the beach to collect sounds and to check on the progress of the decomposition of the sealion carcass, and Zoe is at school-- 3rd grade already!
So much to tell, and so little space. If fact, we have decided not to bore you with the details unless you're interested. DeWaine is creating a Treehouse/family website that will have a breakdown of years and projects, and I am gathering a selection of photos to scan in. Our home E-mail address is zodama@ptialaska.net The website address is www.ptialaska.net/~zodama
This newsletter is more of a HELLO, and a notice that we are, indeed, alive and well, and, actually, extremely happy with our life choices and situation right now. Life is good. Let us outline the last few years.
1997 I had evolved from coordinating film projects to coordinating web sites. In May, I traveled to Alaska for my first-time-ever away from Zoe for more than an overnight. If I was to fuel a move that was to affect my family with such a major and drastic change, I had to be sure. Not to disappoint, Homer welcomed me back with moose in the front yard, the full moon skimming the mountains, and twilight skies at midnight! To quote cousin Skip, "Yahoo!" We're in.
So then what happens? The City of St. Paul offers me a job as a Science teacher, grades K-6 at Frost Lake, a Global Studies and Technology Magnet School, beginning in Sept. The principal is a "sister-hippie", the room is WELL EQUIPPED, and the population is made up of (64% Hmong) very mellow and well behaved students. I signed up. What I LEARNED was that teaching is a 70 hour a week job, especially when my rotation supplied me with 6 classes/ grade levels each and every day, with a new rotation every week. If the 180 kids a day didn't kill you, the cumulative results of all 630 did. Plus, I prided myself with teaching interesting, hands-on, very prep intensive, real Science STUFF. This is why I've had no time to write.
It was a very intense 2 years, and I worked my butt off, but I am so very grateful for the experience. I have finally found what I love to do. I LOVE working with children, and I think of (and treat) them all as my own. I know now that I will always be involved in education, but I don't want my own classroom, conferences, or report cards. Somehow, I am going to combine my skills in coordinating, curriculum development, and communicating with the younger set, and create some kind of job for myself within the Alaskan Educational system. I'll keep you posted.
At the same time I started teaching, Zoe started first grade. It was a big adjustment in our family, but I think it was a good one. I went from being a 70% at home Mom, with a flexible freelance schedule, to basically being an absent parent. DeWaine rose to the challenge of becoming the primary parent for the daily at-home run-around routine... homework, lunches, backpack, find the mittens, to the bus... Zoe and her Dad got to know each other more, and they are both richer for it. (However, I missed her terribly, and am glad that I'm back to having time with her. In an hour I'll be heading into town to go to her Brownie/Girl Scout meeting and to make X-mas angels.)
Zoe went to Adams Spanish Immersion School for K, 1 & 2. It's a fabulous program! Kids naturally adapt to another language, and with the addition of her 3 trips to Costa Rica (and soon to be second to Ecuador), Zoe truly is developing a great understanding of the Spanish language. Zoe can THINK in Spanish, and could fluently translate her homework assignments to us. That is one of the sad things we had to give up when we left MN. Also tough to leave, her African drum and dance classes. As was expressed about her sense of rhythm, "Little sister's got the MOVES." (Don't worry, Zoe still stays busy with friends, READING, ballet & tap classes, and the Boys and Girls club.)
DeWaine passed his 10 year mark at the MN Zoo that year, still working in the education outreach program, but he also started a whole new field for himself, as a designer of bug exhibits! You all know of his fabulous and whimsical art style, and when this is combined with his passionate and abundant knowledge of bugs, well...the result was/is amazing. He is currently working on his 3rd project of this nature. Awesome!
1998 Our craziest, busiest, most work/least sleep time of our lives. DeWaine was working non-stop at the Zoo, still holding down the home front, and also working 20 hours a week on the Indianapolis Zoo project, flying in and out on weekends until its successful opening in May. I was still insane at Frost Lake, the relentlessness of having such a demanding, personal, intense job, where I used all my sick days just to catch up on grading papers, really started to take its toll. Looking back, I have to sigh, and give thanks for the opportunity to get out of that race, (even though I miss "my kids.") We had a short stint visiting a routine which most people live in for the duration. We are so grateful that we were able to escape!
One of the most wonderful of vacations came during this time, however...our trip to the Galapagos for the Total Eclipse of the Sun. It was astounding! (Photo enclosed). And, as luck would have it, the February occurrence coincided perfectly with our 10 year wedding anniversary. We celebrated the decade since our Machu Picchu wedding on the banks of the Amazon, enhancing our little ceremony that we do every year to include Zoe. It was magical. Then, onto the boat and to snorkeling with sea lions, sharks, rays, marine iguanas, and penguins, and seeing tortoises that may have been the very same creatures that Darwin saw! It was a great group and a great time. When we returned, Zoe wrote one of the most beautiful poems! It is still one of my favorites. I must share it with you. (Remember, when she wrote this, she was only 6!)
Far away
in the deep blue sea
abundant fish play so
still and splash
along a ship.
At night the birds
and the girl do magic
for the stars.
Now she is at school.
HI Folks! DeWaine here and I am your host for 1999 to present! Buckle your seat belts it's going to be a wild ride! The year opened for me with two business trips to Costa Rica where we were commissioned to design an interpretive display concerning tropical forest ecology. Jane and Zoe were left at home with my assurances that I would be working; collecting forest photos, video and sound and would not be having any fun at all. This was met with a measure of skepticism. School continued to consume Jane and her time and Zoe continued to drum, read, have fun etc until a fateful day in May when Jane returned from a lunch with her friend Mary and introduced me to the idea of selling the house in a month, packing up and moving to Alaska. My mind raced and, being the cautious soul that I am, thought of all the reasons to not do this. All none of them. "Let's go for it!" said I and we were off. The next 3 months passed in an instant that seemed to take forever and those of you who participated in the melee know what I mean. The condensed version of the bedlam can be found on our web site or, if you like, can be mailed directly to your doorstep. (Or wait for the novelization and mini-series when it comes out on Fox). The bottom line is that the house sold in an hour and a half after being listed, & we moved out (adventure #1), we drove here (adventure #2), the house was nothing but a slab with a few 2x4's (BIG adventure #3,) and (the Big Finish) we moved in 6 weeks after our arrival. Whew!
One of the most important reasons we moved to Alaska was to have more time to enjoy each other; something we hadn't had too much of in Minnesota. We are just getting to that point now as the dust slowly settles. Jane is taking dance lessons again, Zoe is active in Girl Scouts and Dance and me? I plan on starting up sword fighting lessons (really!) when we get back from our New Year Adventure. For work we are doing the mixed bag thing. I am doing freelance exhibit design work for my friend Kraig at Spineless Wonders, am an approved Alaskan Substitute Teacher, and plan on making my own style of Alaskan art trinkets to sell to the big summer rush of tourists. Jane wants to get her AK teaching certification, work on the fringes of the system, and start a Science/Education based monthly newsletter.
This month we will be passing through Minnesota on our way to Ecuador. We're returning to the Galapagos to bring in the new Millennium, and to bid Latin America a heartfelt and extended, (though hopefully not permanent) goodbye. (Tough to do after 8 visits in 11 years.) We are also looking forward to spending time with our families and friends, especially since our departure was so sudden.
On that note, we want to give a special thanks to all of you who worked so hard to help us to leave. (Hmmm...) No, really, we could not have made it without you, and we truly appreciate all the encouragement, support and hard labor. We can hardly wait for you to visit! (Tent space always available, but call ahead to reserve the guest room!)
Zoe, our #1 joy, inspiration, and source of daily laughter reminds us, as all children do, of what is important in life. We'll close with her list of things to be thankful for, adding, from us, the gift of TIME...
Doy Gracias por... (I give thanks for) Mi familia (my family), mi perro (my dog), mi salud (my health), para ser vivo (for my life), mi casa (my house), mis amigos (my friends), mi escuela (my school), and el mundo (the world).
TAKE CARE, DEAR FRIENDS! KEEP IN TOUCH! Box 3307 Homer, AK 99603... (907) 235-7262