Tag: Pictures

Thankful Tuesday: Places and destinations

basket

“I reread the Odyssey… which I had first read in school and remembered as a story of a homecoming. But it is not a story of a homecoming. How could the Greeks who knew that one never enters the same river twice, believe in homecoming? Odysseus does not return home to stay, but to set off again.” Bernhard Schlink, The Reader

Last week we just ate clementines. Well, we did other things too but it felt as if it was all that we did. When you have the flu, you want to eat citrus fruits all the time, don’t you? It is really lovely to see that no food is dismissed when its eating is preceded by having an opportunity to peel it, and garlic is no exception (at least not in my toddler’s case).

As our noses were running and temperatures went high, we had to say no to a few events and cancel one too. I must admit I have grown so fond of our little communities recently that I have found it quite painful to stay at home.

There are times however that we find it difficult to appreciate our back and forth travelling. Journeys to work, shops, schools and nurseries. But as much as we love home, as much as we find it easier to return than to set off, there is no doubt that we also meet ourselves in other places. These days even if my journeys are only to the nearest park, I am grateful for having them. For having opportunities to set off. To be in motion. In a physical or metaphorical sense.

They say that small children learn an awful lot while discussing with their mothers all the things that happen on the other side of the window. Quickly, they are drawn outside… they find their favourite places… just as adults do.

Today I am grateful for those places and our destinations that pull us out of bed every morning and make us meet ourselves and meet each other. We belong to the world that’s greater than our home. We must set off.

early morning walkfrosty morningbracing for winter craft early morning walk2 in bed with a flu mandarines

 Thankful Tuesday series was started by Life With The Crew. Pop over to her blog to read about her adventures.

This life, that hour

“Happiness, knowledge, not in another place, but this place, not for another hour, but this hour.”

– Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

Autumn Hunt

Childhood is not childhood without picking up conkers so this is what we’ve been doing today. Are you making the most of this season?

When I was walking…

poppies Poppies1_Postcards without stamps_blog

“The world reveals itself to those who travel on foot.” – Werner Herzog

One thing that for certain makes you a better parent

a boy chasing a duck
The longer I am a mum of my little toddler, the more I am convinced that there is mainly one thing that helps you become a better, more sensible and more loving parent and that thing is… sleep.

The more you get it, the more patient you are, the more energetic you are and the more adventurous and willing in organising your toddler’s time.

My toddler’s sleeping routine is still uneven but has recently greatly improved. His daytime sleep has also regulated itself. I suspect that three elements contributed to his better sleeping routine:
Activity: he runs around more and plays around in the garden
Diet: there’s more meat in his diet
Emotional Security: he comfortably borrowed his daddy’s big pillow to sleep on.

With this new sleeping pattern emerges a happier, stronger and more confident mama, and the stronger the mama, the better for the whole household.

So I’ll be finishing this post now. My toddler is having his afternoon nap, I’ll have it too.