Counting

38 more days, 6 music lessons, 5 circus practices, 1 dress rehersal and 4 shows. Not that we are counting or anything.

Reinventing ourselves

The weather is making all of us grumpy. We sewed with bright red fabric. 
And sang on the way back. It made me laugh that the (broken) Westfalia odometer said I was going at 140 km/h when everybody was zooming by.
I made falafel and green orzo. They set the table with the flowered spring tablecloth.

Then, the sun finally showed it's face after dinner. They went outside and biked, and everything fell into place. I love how we can all reinvent ourselves a little bit at the end of the day.

Dealing with adversity

"If you watch how nature deals with adversity, continually renewing itself, you cannot help but learn." - Bernie S. Siegel

A rainy weekend in Massachusetts

JF had a race near Boston, so we decided to make it our first camping weekend of the season. Of course it rained. It *always* rain when we camp in our Westfalia. While JF ran, we tried to stay warm in the van, snuggled under our comforters, reading, knitting, watching tons of different bird species visiting the tree right beside our Westy - from the top bunk, through the little side window in the new roof tent. We made warm coffee for JF (he ended up stopping after 30 km - it was a  50 km race - because he was sick and hadn't slept enough in the previous weeks). 

They were all sick and went through 2 kleenex boxes in 48 hours. The wet Westfalia turned into a giant germ incubator. I tried to keep my water bottle to myself, but it was pointless... At some point, Mara was practicing her violin, JF was holding her sheet music, Mathilde and Aïsha were playing Connect4 and I was sitting on the ground reading. In less than 50 square feet. But we are used to do our living and our loving pretty close. So close in fact, that we can see it all, beauty and faults, joy and sorrow, glory and pain. So close we can't focus on them too long...

 :: After 10 km, cold and wet, but still smiling ::

 :: Knitting, playing, drawing, eating while papa is running in the rain::

I made sushis for hungry girls while he was driving. Thinking about the many ham and cheese sandwiches I made on that very same table for my dad and I, when I was their age.

They picked shells while I filled my lungs with salty air. Then, we washed our dishes in dirty sea water that we heated on the stovetop.

Also: perfectly burnt camping toasts. Magnolias in full bloom. Cartwheels in the bright green grass. Yellow forsythia everywhere.

 I came back with a sore throat, a pretty dirty Westfalia and a very full heart.

Wild

So much in my life right now is chaotic and wild. And I find it all strangely exhilarating.

 

The sweet spot

We woke up to the phone ringing and a short deadline. To hungry and grumpy children. To a messy kitchen. 
Somewhere, mid-afternoon we found the sweet spot. Two playing. One practicing the piano. The house (mostly) tidy. It was so good I was afraid to breathe.

4

You turned 4 running with your friends in the backyard, energized by the new warmth, proud of your shiny knight costume. There were cupcakes with maple icing. Popcorn. A beautiful fruit plates. Birthday clementines, you said. Lots of friendly duels. And a unique story prepared by people who love you. A perfect celebration of the wonderful soul that you are.