A Mother's Dilemma

When a mother discovers her son has shrunk three pant sizes and two shirt sizes it is a bit uncomfortable. Luckily when Aaron left to travel overseas for a year, he had just a few pounds he could spare. The realization is that I am sure it is a combination of a different diet, being more active at times (like a week of constant downhill skiing), but also having a little less appetite at other times.

So here is how we are accustomed to seeing our son. These are clothes he took with him from the USA.

Now here is an outfit he tried on at a store in Slovakia on Monday, February 22, 2016.

While he didn't decide to buy that one, he did go out the next day and purchase this...

It was good to see the pictures and know he's not down to skin and just bones! As a friend said, it probably says more about our American diet and how we can learn something from others. 

Almost down to 100 days until his return, and I can't wait to squeeze him no matter what size he is!

Sending a Hug and a Message

To Aaron:

Artwork Credit: Snoopy Facebook page

Ups and Downs Continue

The exchange year continues to be like a roller coaster. Right now we seem to be in one of the valleys. So allow me to share an excerpt from a book I picked up when Mike and I made a trip to Arizona in November. The title is "Keep Going: The Art of Perseverance." It's written by a Lokata Indian, Joseph M. Marshall III.

The grandfather in the book speaks to his grandson:

Photo Attribution: CC BY 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20047214

"When I was a young man," he said, "the last wolf in the part of the country was hunted down and killed. The newcomers to this land brought their long-held fears of the wold with them. The newcomers thought, and still think, that the wolf was successful because he loved to kill and was good at it. To them, he was evil and had to be killed. They didn't realize that he failed more than he succeeded. He went hungry eight or nine times out of ten because his prey got away. When he finally succeeded the tenth time, he satisfied his hunger. What others saw as a lust for killing was really perseverance. That was the secret of his success: He never quit." 

And in a paragraph soon following, he says,

"...losing can weaken our spirit, and dampen our enthusiasm for putting forth effort...As the wolf learned long ago, of the many rewards for winning, two are most important:

Victory obscures loss, and it replenishes the spirit."

Stay the course, my son. Just 113. 

Love, Mom.