Tumblr (3.0; @alabasteralabaster)http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/<p>More photos from my mother’s life in Africa, <a href="http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/206538288/so-the-story-goes-i-was-born-in-zimbabwe-and-my">as promised</a>…<br/><br/><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_krxrqkoWOH1qzt0iz.jpg"/><br/>My great-grandfather, grandfather, and mother (she could fit in a shoebox!)</p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_krxs8zk9Z51qzt0iz.png"/></p> <p>My grandmother, aunt, mother</p> <p>My mother and her sister through the years:<i><br/></i><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_krxsmpvoGm1qzt0iz.jpg"/></p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_krxsodC1MT1qzt0iz.jpg"/></p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_krxsnsryaR1qzt0iz.jpg"/></p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_krxt4frD191qzt0iz.jpg"/></p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_krxt15guLE1qzt0iz.png"/></p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_krxtjjJMej1qzt0iz.png"/></p> <p>My mom, grandfather, and aunt… I really wish this one wasn’t blurry :/</p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_krxtpsnWjZ1qzt0iz.png"/></p> <p>My mom, aunt, and uncles at Estoril Hotel in Beira, Mozambique</p>http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/220342366http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/220342366Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:31:00 -0700<img src="http://5.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_krxroa3js91qzt0gfo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>My mother and grandmother</p>http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/220317029http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/220317029Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:57:46 -0700<img src="http://16.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kr4x0l6vZH1qzt0gfo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/206550651http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/206550651Wed, 07 Oct 2009 01:02:00 -0700my grandfather in his later yearshe's the one with the big fat trophy<img src="http://9.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kr4wwngkhV1qzt0gfo1_r1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/206549553http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/206549553Wed, 07 Oct 2009 01:00:00 -0700my grandfather in his younger yearsCLICK TO ENLARGE<img src="http://20.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kr4wv9P3Jz1qzt0gfo1_r1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/206549143http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/206549143Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:59:00 -0700africadogsgoatkudumy grandfather in his younger yearsCLICK TO ENLARGE<p>So, the story goes, I was born in Zimbabwe and my parents were not missionaries - they were born there too. I am of the third (maybe fourth?) generation African-born. I feel very blessed to have lived the first few of my formative years in Africa. I feel an inexorable tie to the ‘mother country’ even though I did not grow up there. I like to think that four years was enough to soak up a good bit of the continent. I wonder to what extent being born in one hemisphere and growing up in the other (and occasionally traveling between the two) affects a person. I see hints of possibilities in my life (extreme behavior, indecisiveness, feeling out of place, experiencing a deep connection to nature and spirituality…)</p> <p>How different would I be if I grew up in Africa, or anywhere else, for that matter? To what extent are we shaped by our surroundings?</p> <p>I reflect on my African birth now because my father just sent me a DVD full of scanned slides and photos of my mother’s childhood and life in Africa. Throughout my life, it  has been regretfully easy to forget that my parents grew up in a completely different place and time. Looking at these old photographs has been nothing short of life-changing for me, so I am going to spend the next few days sharing some of my favorite images with you. From one life, time, and place, to another… enjoy…</p>http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/206538288http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/206538288Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:34:00 -0700<img src="http://5.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kr3uuxedC91qzt0gfo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/206017928http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/206017928Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:18:33 -0700““Real happiness lies in that which never comes nor goes, but simply is.””<br/><br/> - <em>Yogi Bhajan (via <a href="http://oceanofmind.tumblr.com/">oceanofmind</a>)</em>http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/205675201http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/205675201Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:44:43 -0700<img src="http://13.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kr23xaOg5T1qzt0gfo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/205260922http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/205260922Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:39:10 -0700<img src="http://17.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kr231tdIfb1qzt0gfo1_r1_500.png"/><br/><br/>http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/205249942http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/205249942Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:20:00 -0700<img src="http://11.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kr13fsN9Q61qzt0gfo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/204859931http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/204859931Sun, 04 Oct 2009 23:31:01 -0700<img src="http://17.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kr13gxiLaj1qzt0gfo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/204860255http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/204860255Sun, 04 Oct 2009 23:21:00 -0700<img src="http://6.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kqz7ymYOjk1qa1fcyo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/204853026http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/204853026Sun, 04 Oct 2009 23:18:25 -0700(via ortheisof)““Life has a bright side and a dark side, for the world of relativity is composed of light and shadows. if you permit your thoughts with dwell on evil, you yourself will become ugly. look only for the good in everything so you can absorb the quality of beauty.””<br/><br/> - <em>Paramahansa Yogananda</em>http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/204851464http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/204851464Sun, 04 Oct 2009 23:15:37 -0700(via oceanofmind)<img src="http://9.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kr01yq9DUY1qa1fcyo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/204850875http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/204850875Sun, 04 Oct 2009 23:14:34 -0700(via ortheisof)<img src="http://19.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kqyfeiXujj1qzdwigo1_400.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/204848908http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/204848908Sun, 04 Oct 2009 23:11:17 -0700via oceanofmindGustav Klimt<img src="http://20.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kqykxlAwHA1qa1ix6o1_500.png"/><br/><br/>http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/203978994http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/203978994Sat, 03 Oct 2009 23:04:05 -0700(via oceanofmind)<img src="http://21.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kqydde9IQA1qzt0gfo1_400.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/203563081http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/203563081Sat, 03 Oct 2009 12:12:49 -0700<img src="http://13.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kqydam9JGE1qzt0gfo1_400.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/203562012http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/203562012Sat, 03 Oct 2009 12:11:09 -0700<img src="http://7.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kqyd9pHOIu1qzt0gfo1_400.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/203561625http://alabasteralabaster.tumblr.com/post/203561625Sat, 03 Oct 2009 12:10:37 -0700