A Tuesday

Hello to you all,

In sitting down to update the blog, I realize that settling into our "day-to-day" here doesn't lend itself to adventure writing. We haven't spent much time driving through pristine, untouched country side, nor has anyone nearly fallen on top of seal in quite a while now.


So I've created a game for you. You know those kids magazines that have 2 pictures side by side and you are supposed to pick out the 10 things in the second picture that are different from the first? They'll change the boy's hat from red to blue or add an extra ear to the dog's head or whatever. So here is your chance to play the grown-up version. I'm going to tell you about my day today and you get to compare it to what you know of my days in Colorado. We'll have a contest to see how many you can pick out. The winner gets to come visit us! (Airfare and lodging not included.) (I just want you to know that I am totally cognizant of the fact that this might be more fun for me than it is for you!)

I woke up this past Tuesday morning and went for a run along the ocean (that would be one because, as we know, there's no ocean in Lakewood. See how this goes? Now you see if you can find the rest) while my husband and children were sleeping. I saw the skies turn from black to dark blue to pink, peach, yellow and orange. Then to pale blue to bright blue. I watched the sun rise up out of the back of the ocean, turning the water from a vast darkness to a playful turquoise toothpaste color, the waves brimming with creamy breaking water. It's amazing how the ocean can look menacing and mysterious in the dark and delightfully playful with the light.

I drove home after my run and made my children breakfast and packed lunches and with the help of Mark, we got them out the door on time without much hassle. I sprayed the kids with bug spray which I know is an exercise in futility but I do what I can. We all got in the car and drove Mark less than 5 minutes to his school and dropped him off and then another 5 minutes to the kids' school to drop them off. Gabe leapt out of the car, as he does every morning. It's been a few weeks now since I've gotten a good-bye hug or kiss. Are those days really over??? Jordan and I waited until her teacher arrived and then walked over to the sandpit where her class gathers in the morning. She struggled with my leaving as she does most mornings but she has two wonderful teachers, one of whom playfully and lovingly took her hand and redirected her attention off me and onto something fun for her.

Then I drove off, alone, for the day. I dropped the car off at the Servo (service station) for an oil change and to figure out what the creaking sound is about when I turn right. After handing them the keys, I walked home. I made a quick pit stop and then went back out my front door and across a street to the big open space park where I took myself for an hour long hike through the gum tree forest. As I was hiking along, enjoying the raucous bird song, the fresh air and the February sun with temperatures in the high 70s, a kangaroo hopped across my path about 20 yards in front of me.
About 15 minutes later, I was startled (you should have heard what I said!) by a foot and a half long, black, shiny goana (lizard) who was chilling by the edge of the trail I was on.

At the end of my hike, I came back in the house, made myself some lunch from the home cooked meal I'd made the night before and then sat down to write. I got out 2000 words today but unlike yesterday when my fingers were dancing about the keyboard, today was hard work. I'm afraid that on some days, the words have much more heft than depth. But they're out there, those words, and my job for the day was done.

I had some extra time before our car would be done at the shop so I sat in our family room and read a book in a quiet house. The car people picked me up and I went on my way to get the kids from their school and then Mark from his. Once we were all home together, well before 4:00, we played. Gabe and I played Othello, Mark and the kids played basketball. Then the kids and I cleaned the bathroom together: "I get to clean the toilet," yelled Jordan. "I get the bathtub," countered Gabe. I love Australia! Mark spent that time working on some travel plans on the internet. (For those of you who are gearing up to give him a hard time for not being a team player, step back. I'm so sick of getting sucked into the internet trying to book accomodations in a country I know very little about that I would much rather have scrubbed tile than do what he was doing.)

Let's see, so after the bathroom, the kids went into the family room (which they call the lego room for good reason) and played nicely together. For the most part. I made dinner, from scratch, for the umpteenth night in a row. Everyone helped get it on the table and we sat down together for our evening meal. For all the Waldorf people reading this, we've learned a new blessing. Email me if you'd like the words. It's lovely.

After dinner, Mark did dishes, kids took baths, I was probably returning emails. Once the kids were in bed, Mark and I went out on our back deck, lit the citronella candles and talked while we watched the thunderstorm light up the sky and drench the ground. Did you notice that I didn't say the phone rang all evening?

So that is what life is like here some days, most days. We like to have adventures on the weekends which have been fun, exploring the country and coast within an hour or two drive from here. But none of us are feeling pulled to separate from each other to do other things. This family time we're having has been, by far, the greatest unexpected gift of this entire trip up to this point. I wonder if that will be the case all year. I'm guessing it might.

So here's to family, both immediate and extended--as far around the globe as it reaches.