Full Moon sailing in a dark and rainy party habitat
“It’s raining!” I thought. “Look at that!” I exclaimed.
“Rain! Rain!” The grand(est)son shouted.
It was the first time that he said: ‘rain’ and almost the first time he had seen rain. I had told him that sometimes ‘water fell from the sky’ and he remembered the word. In fact, he is rapidly learning to control his vocal cords. So, now he can say words that he understands and has heard. They simply show up in his vocabulary.
This week I (finally) finished my initial sailing lessons. My friend Joel and I had a delayed last lesson for meteorological reasons: sometimes it was too windy and sometimes there wasn’t enough wind. (And sometimes I was out of town and sometimes he was out of town.)
“I can see why the steamship invention was well-received,” I thought when we had to cancel a lesson for lack of wind.
In this case, our teacher (Jason) was sufficiently confident (and ill-informed) to authorize a solo sail.
Note: By ‘solo’, I mean that Joel and I sailed the boat together. So, in point of fact, Jason authorized a ‘duo’.
It was a success. So, I am now a qualified sailor. (Of small boats, near to shore, under ideal conditions, with a friend, on earth-like planets, during the day, on mostly flat water.)
This will be our third Christmas in Santa Barbara. We feel at home and, while we miss Switzerland and our friends there, we are also happy being closer to ‘our girls’ (and their men). We’re thrilled to be able to spend so much time with our grandson. And..
“What’s even more amazing, Nazy,” I explained, “is that Tiger is the most spectacular and accomplished 18-month old baby in the entire world.” 
“Now, Dan.”
“And it’s because he has the best grandparents,” I continued, sure that Nazy would agree.
“Maybe you should give some credit to his parents,” Nazy suggested.
“Of course!” I replied, thinking about the gene contribution that we had made.
In fact, at dinner a few weeks ago with Melika and Tom, we were, eh, I was extolling the virtues of the Grand(est)son.
“I’m getting jealous,” Melika interrupted. “Maybe you should pay some attention to me.”
“Yes, of course,” Nazy replied. “You are the mother of the most wonderful child in the world.”
“Something is up,” I thought.
“We showed you a picture with a positive test in the foreground,” Melika thought.
“I wonder why they keep shoving that photograph in my face,” Nazy thought.
As you have gathered, there was a pregnant pause.
“We’re pregnant!” Tom exclaimed.
“Both of you?” I asked, turning to Melika. “You need to have a girl this time; I’ve used the ‘grand(est)son’ moniker. And, by the way, the full moon in July 2016 occurs on the 20th.” (The Grand(est)son was born during a full moon .. well after I had lost the date-of-birth prediction contest.)
This development means that Melika will be 6 months along for Darius and Christiane’s wedding in April.
Because I’ve had experience with this, I thought about preparing Tiger for the happy event.
Flashback
Memphis, Tennessee
Nazy was about six months pregnant with Darius. I decided to explain the situation to Mitra.
“And, so, Mitra: Mommy has a baby in her tummy and..”
“Oh Daddy! I am almost three years old. Baby in her tummy? It’s not funny.”
“Have you noticed that Mommy’s tummy is getting bigger, Mitra?”
After a few weeks, Mitra reluctantly accepted my explanation. I continued explanations.
“… and, you, Mitra, were also in Mommy’s tummy before you were born.”
“Hmm.” Mitra parried.
“Do you remember that?”
“Yes.’
“Really? What was it like?”
“It was dark and rainy.” Mitra replied succinctly and accurately.
End Flashback
Melika and Tom prepared for the birth of a new baby by overseeing renovation work on their new home. As with a baby, the gestation period was long. Delivery was painful. The end result was beautiful. They celebrated with a ‘house warming’ party for 60 close friends. And, although all 60 came, there was enough food for 400: Nazy, for example, prepared a few tons of Persian Rice using pots and pans as big as the Millennium Falcon. (It is the opening weekend for Star Wars.)
We’ve also been invited to friend’s holiday parties. As usual, Nazy looks wonderful.
Also, as usual, we’re a little bit behind on our Christmas preparations. But our tree is up (and decorated). The mantle is festively bedecked with our nutcracker collection and we have a few extra days this year since we’ll celebrate when Darius arrives. (Or thereabouts — perhaps on Orthodox Christmas Day in January. Or maybe on President’s Day in February. Or on Persian New Year’s Day in March. Or Nazy’s birthday in April…&rdquo
