OK, an observation about America. It is definitely getting more diverse. We live smack dab in the middle of a multi-100,000 swath of Charlotte's white population and consider that to be.... well, a bit boring now. So, I have definitely noticed that our eyes gravitate to foreign people, of whom there are many in Charlotte - just not so many where we live.
The other day, Tara got a taste of the growing diversity of Charlotte - with en element of humor.
She was in Target. If you aren't sure what Target is - it is a box store with a slightly "above" edge to it. Not much, but it's different.
So, two women were walking through Target - both with full hijab on. They must have just arrived, because they looked a bit stunned, according to Tara, by the sheer volume of items around them. And the fact they were still in full hijab tells you they were probably new. That eventually gets toned down as Muslims live in the US.
Anyway, there were various kids with them. The kids spoke English pretty well. So, as these women and their children wandered through Target wide-eyed, a little boy looked up at his mother and said, "Mother, do you remember that bird I killed in Pakistan? I am sorry about that."
That's all Tara heard. She liked that moment.
So, more pictures are below.....
^ A bit blurry, but here are the boys on the first day of school. Liam has been doing well. So far, so good.
^ I was in charge of getting Jonah and Aidan on the bus. Of course, we missed it. I drove them. It's just around the corner. Ashoka came.
^ The picture of Iva Mayberry over the piano. Esteemed ancestor (wink, wink).
^ We like antique maps. This is of Bermuda, where we went on our honeymoon. The eucalyptus in the vase - from the yard. I grew it!
^ The porch has been put together, a bit.
^ Back patio, taking shape.
^ Computer now has a place in the library - and it doesn't have to be seen at all times, a key condition for Tara.
^ Library - art, seats, goodlighting. Coming together nicely.
^ In our bedroom - what will be forever known as "Sonali's couch". We now have a nice little lounge area. Good for naps.
^ Check this sentence out - "In India, we got used to having more television options, so we tried to get that many options in the US." This sentence is probably not uttered often.
To know us is to know our ambivalence to television. We watch it, but try to be selective and remember fondly the five years after Liam was born when we had no TV. Additionally, we never had cable before India. Nor a flat screen before India.
But - I'll admit, watching my iTunes-downloaded episodes of Battlestar Galactica through an RGB cableon this thing was cool. All sorts of options these days. And I have been DVR'ing "Punked", one of my favorite shows. So, technology isn't all bad.
