Things I miss...

As you know, being sick sometimes makes you homesick as well.  After spending the last two weeks being sick I thought a lot about the things I miss at home.  So, even though I am very happy here, I thought I'd share the things I miss from home...

• Mom!  I miss talking to her almost every day.  I miss our quarterly visits! ;) I miss visiting on the weekends and going to church with her, seeing the LBC gang, and being first in line for the goodies after mass.  I miss shopping with her (although we are horrible for each other - spend way too much money when we're together!)  I miss watching TV and commenting on everything.  I miss just hanging out and doing nothing with her.

• My sisters!  I miss my weekly/bi-weekly visits to Meg's house for dinner.  I miss the occasional trip to Findlay Market with her.  I miss driving by Julie's and calling her on the phone saying, "I'm driving by your house, are you home?  Good, I'm stopping in for a visit!"  I miss chatting with both of them on the phone and dissecting everything going on in the family!

• My brother!  Although I'm used to missing him, since he's been overseas for soooooo long, I always miss him!

• My nieces and nephews!  I miss Grace cooking dinner for me!  I miss seeing the kids when they are home from college.  I miss seeing them on holidays.  I miss hearing all the scoop about them from their mothers.  I miss going to Mercy plays and Madeira volleyball, basketball, football games.  I miss hearing about the latest boyfriend/girlfriend and the saga that goes along with that!

• Family!  I miss the Wilger cousin lunches...how nice it was to see that group more than once a year!  I miss the occasional visits and holidays with my Aunt Kathy and my wonderful cousins!

• My friends!  I miss hanging out with Ellen and Maddie.  I miss Sunday Dinners where I got to cook for all my friends.  I miss going to Findlay Market with Mary.  I miss drinking beer with Ray.  I miss talking about work and everything else with Jeff.  I miss playing Wii games and always losing to Maddie.  I miss going out to dinner and then the bookstore with the girls.  I miss going to the movies and eating lots of popcorn with the girls!  (We had a lot of "girls nights!"

• Food!  I miss Chipotle burrito bowls.  I miss chicken fried rice - without bean sprouts - from PF Chang's.  I miss big, juicy steaks from Longhorn Steak.  I miss Skyline Chili (although Jeff did send me a bunch of cans, so I can get a fix now and then!)  I miss Graeters ice cream.  I miss ZZ's Pizza.  I miss Wendy's spicy chicken sandwich.  Yummmmmmm!

So, there you have it...all the things I miss.  It actually makes me feel better to write it all out, like I was actually experiencing it.  It's tough to be so far from the things I love.  I've always been a bit of a homebody.  Although I've had an urge to get out and experience, "more" I also loved just being home surrounded by my family and friends.  It's hard to be away from all these things.    

Thanks to all of you who write me and keep me in the loop.  I really appreciate hearing from people.  I'm sorry if I don't always get a chance to write back.  Please know, though, that your contact is GREATLY appreciated.  It's good to have a little piece of home in my email box!!  

La Mulți Ani Marțișor!!

March 1st is an special day in Romania...it's the official celebration of Spring!!  Below you can read all about the customs and the legend of Marțișor.   For the past few days the streets in Severin have been full of tables set up selling goods for the holiday.  Each one costs only a small amount - maybe 1 to 3 lei (less than a dollar!)  This week, my students have given me 95 of these little trinkets (and lots of flowers too!)...yes, I counted!  With each gift, kisses are given on each cheek and a hearty "La Mulți Ani" is said...or for those brave enough to try out their English..."Happy Spring!"

La Mulți Ani de Marțișor!

Martisor is an ancient symbol of spring, the beginning, the joy of living. Here are some of the most beautiful and famous Romanian traditions and customs related to the holiday of Martisor

Red and white symbols

Traditionally, the Martisor should be pinned to your blouse or wrapped around your wrist before sunrise at dawn. The combination between red and white signifies unity between contrasts: summer– winter, cold-hot, light and dark. The blending of red and white also suggests life cycle renewal.

Customs and superstitions

It is also said that the person wearing his Martisor consecutively between March 1 to 9 will have luck all year long. Those who take it off earlier, are bound to misfortune. Don’ t throw away your Martisor, instead, bind it to a fruitful blooming tree, to enjoy a year just as fruitful as your tree and to give something back to nature.

Romanian ancient believes consider Martisor a talisman that defends from the forces of evil, prevents illness in the coming months of March and keeps away bad luck.

In certain areas such as Moldova or Bukovina, women wear round their neck a cord of red and white with gold or silver coins. In the old days the cord was worn for 12 days and then was used to buy a slice of white sweet cheese. Thus, the girl who wore the cord with pennies would be sweet and beautiful all year round.

In Transylvania, the red-white wool Martisor is hung from doors, corners, the horns of animals, the handles of buckets to defend from evil spirits and to invoke life through its stimulating colors.

Martisor is also celebrated in Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania.

The Legend of Marțișor

Legend has it that hundreds of years ago an old woman by the name of Dochia had a daughter-in-law whom she hated. One cold day in late winter, Dochia gave her some black wool and told her to go to the river in the mountains and wash it until it was pure white. The young woman was afraid of her mother-in -law. So she went to the river and spent hours washing the wool in freezing water. For all her efforts the wool remained pitch black. The young woman began to cry. Suddenly, a man appeared before her. He told her his name was Martisor. "Why are you crying?" he asked the young woman.

After hearing her story, Martisor said he had magic powers to help her. He gave the young woman a red and white flower. He told her to wash the wool one more time and then take it home. The young woman put the flower behind her ear, washed the wool and carried it home on her head. When she got home and looked at the wool, she was speechless. The wool was white as snow. Old Dochia couldn't believe her eyes either. She had been sure her daughter-in-law would never be able to wash the wool white. Suddenly, she noticed the flower in her daughter-in- law's hair.

"Where did this come from?" she asked. "It’s still winter." The young woman then explained how Martisor had helped her. Old Dochia started jeering at her daughter-in- law. She did not believe a single word of it but thought instead that spring had already come to the mountains.

Old Dochia owned a herd of sheep and decided it was probably time to take the animals to the spring pasture in the mountains. She took a dozen sheepskins to keep herself warm on the way. It was a warm and sunny day when old Dochia set off, but freezing rain started in the mountains when she got there. Old Dochia changed her coats one by one as they got wet. When she had to take the last coat off, Martisor suddenly appeared before her. "How does it feel to be standing here in the freezing rain?" he asked. "You didn't think it was too cold for your daughter- in-law to wash wool in the river all day long, did you?" He then told old Dochia that he was responsible for the weather changes that had caused her so much trouble.

Martisor disappeared. Old Dochia was left alone in the mountains. The sheep had wandered away. The old woman froze to death and turned into stone. All of this had been the work of Martisor. It was after old Dochia turned into stone that spring finally came.

Happy Spring, everyone!!  :)