From Canada to Austria to…?
5-years-old is such a fun age for lots of reasons. But one of the main ones is that I get to witness the transition between little child and big girl.
Some days I find Annie practicing her super-model poses (not taught by me, I swear!)…
And other days she still likes to snuggle up in the laundry basket!
What a monkey! I think I’ll keep her.
It has been busy lately. I am working more with both of my contracts, work that is more interesting, more challenging, more stressful. I was off to London last week for a work-related conference and I hit Hamburg next week to give a presentation to about 60 German business people on gamification. (In English, thanks to all that is holy.) Annie is in swimming twice a week and dance class once a week, plus various and sundry play-dates which are a requirement like air to breath for my über-social daughter. Markus continues to work mostly 6 days a week, although now that the summer is over, he is home for dinner some days, which is lovely.
And what is up with so many people in my world having birthdays in October and November? I’m not willing (yet) to give up the hand-made birthday cards, but I’m thinking that the 60+ hand-made Christmas cards may not happen this year.
I’ve been feeling busy. And then a thought went through my head, as I knew it would. “Wouldn’t it be lovely just to have time to do crafts, organize my house, go for walks and hikes in the Alps?” the thought mused. And then, luckily, the remembering part of my brain chimed in and said, “Um…the summer of 2010? Hello??”
Right. I had nothing but time for several months two summers ago. Annie was in…school? daycare?…5 hours a day, 5 days a week. I took no German class, had no work, had no outside obligations of any kind. Oodles and oodles of time to do the things that I love most in life, learn new skills, connect with people, explore, get in shape. I sat on the couch. For hours and hours at a time. I don’t even remember if I turned on the T.V. I just remember sitting there day after day.
So for me, it isn’t about having time. It is about having energy, something that I have struggled with most of my life. (As my family knows, who are driven mad with me constantly answering “tired” when asked how I am.) And right now, with big life changes on the horizon, and a happy and active daughter, and work that is interesting and that I am really good at…that give me energy. I may not be able to fit in making Christmas cards this year, but it is a hell of a lot better than sitting on the couch. So to busyness I say, “Thank you!”
I had nothing today, so I went to the NaBloPoMo website to check out the blogging prompts. One that caught my eye was “What is your favourite part about writing?”
I can answer that. Last year a former professor, who was originally from the US but has lived most of her adult life in Innsbruck, started a writing group for English speakers. It is about once a month. We start with a warm-up exercise, usually something physical like walking around or writing with our left hand. Then we complete written exercises, some with materials we have started to write before the class. It is a good and intense three hours.
One exercise that I remember in particular was when the teacher brought about 10 very unusual instruments. I couldn’t have named a single one of them. I chose one and the writing began.
First we had to describe the instrument with no emotion. Simple factual description. Next we wrote from the perspective of the instrument, how it was built, what were its feelings and thoughts. Thirdly was a conversation between the instrument and someone who picked it up.
The story I wove was that the instrument was from South Africa and a couple on their honeymoon from England bought it as a souvenir. Once back at home, the couple played it seldom as life and family rolled along, as it tends to do.
The last part of the exercise was to answer the question, “What am I?”, again from the perspective of the instrument. Some in the group were quite literal, while others were a bit more philosophical. I remember really not sure what to write to answer this question, as I certainly had no idea of what the instrument was actually called. I sat for a long time and then this just come into my head and I captured it:
I am a memory, a reminder. Travels to a strange and far away place. My music brings back moments to those who brought me here.
I am a longing. To try something new, to be someone else. Someone who can make the sweet notes come together to form music, to form magic.
I am an object, an article. Set aside and forgotten for years at a time.
I am a distraction, an oddity, meant to show that those who keep me have travelled, were once adventurous.
I am an instrument, born to be played, to touch someone’s heart as they touch my body.
I am wood and metal. Disposable, degradable, one day to return to the earth that bore me.
I am for you.
I really liked what I wrote, and the words just poured out without any planning or editing. And that is what I love about writing. When something that feels beyond me comes to the page. It makes me feel part of something bigger than myself. And that is a perspective I always appreciate.
Well, I thought that we would be done with the sunnier weather a couple of weeks ago, but the last few days have been bright and clear. So on Sunday we decided to go for a hike.
Markus hadn’t been up this particular mountain before, and when he scouted it on the website, it said 60 minutes. That usually means 60 adult minutes, so often at least 80 kid minutes. Well, up we went. And up. And up. We didn’t check exactly when we left, but it was well over an hour and half hiking. And Annie made it almost the whole way, with only about 10 minutes on Dad’s shoulders. (She is heavy and that just doesn’t really work for a long time anymore!) I was super impressed. She talked, non-stop, for well over 2 hours. But Markus and I were there to spell each other off for the response part of the conversation and it got her up to the top.
There isn’t much Annie likes better than running down a hill. However, after 15 minutes of running and waiting and running and waiting, she did manage to get a blister. There was therefore some complaining back to the car, but I’ll take it for a good workout and a day in the fresh air.
I was so surprised that there were still baby sheep and goats on the hills….aren’t they supposed to be born in Spring? Anyway, they were super cute! As were Markus and Annie, of course.
Annie has a great imagination. She can keep her and us entertained for quite some time with her tales. However, sometimes her imagination is just a wee bit too close to the truth and/or she is using her tales to get something she wants. (My mom said I could have chocolate for dinner!) One might even call it lying.
I’ve thought a lot about how to deal with this. I don’t want to squash her fantasy life, which I think is spectacular, but I do need to address the comments from her teacher and her friends that Annie can’t quite be trusted in what she says.
My current strategy is to let Annie tell any tale she wants, but when another person asks, either adult or child, if that is true Annie MUST then say if the story is made up or not. When Annie explains (on questioning) that the story is just in her imagination, I reinforce the behaviour with comments like, “What an interesting story and tell me more!”
I’ve filled the teacher in on my plan and she is going to give it a try at school. We’ll see how it goes.
I do want to be very careful with this, though, as sometimes made up stories are simply awesome.
How could I forget the carving of the pumpkin pictures? Oh yeah, because of a canceled pumpkin-carving event on the weekend, plus the busyness of the last couple of days, it actually didn’t get done until after Halloween. Oh well…Markus and Annie had fun.
Annie wanted a mermaid (surprise!) so Markus one-upped the game and carved a Hello Kitty mermaid. It really worked I think.
On Sunday the Innsbruck Expat group had a Halloween party at a local restaurant/playground/petting zoo. There weren’t so many kids there Annie’s age, but she still had fun and didn’t want to go home three hours later. She decided to dress up in her fairy costume again (from her birthday), and she sure looked cute!
This place also has donkey/pony rides. We tried the donkey and were reminded why they are considered to by stubborn! After my hands were red and raw from trying to pull that critter by the rope, we switched to the pony. Muuuuch better.
Due to a incident with a too-hard licorice stick about a month ago, Annie had a couple of “wiggle teeth”. The last few days they both came out, giving the Tooth Fairy a reason to visit. Here is a good shot of the new look:
Yesterday Annie’s friend, Emily, also had a Halloween party. The house was amazingly decked out for the occasion. I forgot the camera, but Annie dressed as a very sweet mermaid.
We got to the party and I discovered that Austrians, when they do anything for Halloween at all (which isn’t often), only dress their kids up as witches and ghosts and scary things. Annie didn’t seem to mind, and I just sat back and marvelled at how, after three years, I’m still getting caught out by the cultural differences. Oh well…everyone is used to that crazy Canadian by now.
We are in the throes of deciding if/when to return to Canada, so Annie might be able to experience a real Halloween next year. That would be fun for all of us I think.
Well friends and family (as after the incredibly infrequent blogging I’m sure that you are the only ones left standing), I’ve decided to try to post again every day in November.
So much is going on with our lives these days, and I want to put some effort into recording it. Posts may be short, but at least they will contain some information about what is happening in our world and/or in my mind.
The cafe is closed today, so Markus and Annie are out and about on errands as I try to catch up on some work. Annie is going to a Halloween party this afternoon (no door-to-door trick-or-treating in this part of the world). I’ll post some pics tomorrow.
Here we go….!
On Wednesday the weather turned and it became rainy and cold here. I’m so glad that we made the most of the very warm Old Woman (Altweiber) Summer last weekend. (Would you say that is more or less politically incorrect than Indian Summer?) It started on Friday after a long, long week at work. I was very tempted to pick Annie up and then just throw her in front of the tv so both of us could flake out. Instead, I pulled up my mommy socks and called the mother of one of Annie’s friends to meet us at the wilderness playground after school. I love this playground, as it is spread out through the forest with structures made of wood to blend in with the surroundings. There are swings and slides, miniature houses and a kid-friendly zip-line. A nature walk with balance beams and turny things and a quiz to test knowledge of the forest animals. My favourite part is the barefoot walk. Emily and Annie whipped off their shoes, socks and even pants (so they wouldn’t get wet) and went around and around the path that is laid with different textures for you to experience (wood shaving, rocks, pine cones, tree stumps and a knee-deep pool of cold water at the end.) Sara brought coffee for her and I which we enjoyed in the sunshine, so it was waaaaay better than hunkering down at home.
On Saturday we met up with Chloe, Julian and Margriet and drove up about 30 minutes to a lake. Too cold to swim, we just had an über-relaxing day. The three kids played in the playground while we had a drink at the adjacent cafe. The playground was easy for us to watch, but just far enough away that the children had to think twice about running back to us to report on every little incident. Perfect.
We went for a short hike and then found a restaurant with outdoor seating and another small playground. The time flew by and we were outside for over 6 hours.
On Sunday Markus, Annie and I drove up to one of the mountain regions, Alpbach. It is a small ski area in the winter, but in the summer it is available for hiking (of course). I was a bit surprised at the price of the gondola (11 euros per adult), but when we got up top I realized why.
A 2km children’s walk (Juppi Zauberwald) had been created with, well, just about everything you can think of for a nature-focused kid’s hike. Two well-built-out playgrounds with tree houses and teepees and a wobbly bridge as well as the regular activities.
There were goats to pet and a witch’s hut and oversized witch’s spell book to look at.
Each child got a card to take with them and there were 10 questions scattered throughout the hike; finding the answers completed a crossword puzzle. The weather was amazing and we had a spectacular day. We took the gondola down after the hike and had a late lunch on the patio watching Annie play with other kids on the near-by trampoline.
Markus took a short video on his iPhone of Annie on one of the balance beams. It totally cracks me up, because she isn’t having much trouble crossing, but hams it up with the over-exaggerated nervous sounds and gives us a look at the end to make sure we were appreciating her performance.
As this was what we woke up to Sunday…
…I’m sure glad we took advantage of the beautiful weather when we could.
I can’t believe we have been in Canada for almost a month already. It has gone by so fast. The trip has been, in a word, fantastic!
B.C. was a busy time of visiting friends and family, as expected, but we did enjoy it all. Annie and I had an amazing time in Victoria with Stacey, who is pregnant with twins. She has been following doctors recommendations to take things easy and rest most of the day, so I think she was as glad to have us around as I was thrilled to be spending time with her. And I understand her husband, Andrew, also appreciated that Stacey had another adult to talk to.
And after two years, Annie and I were able to spend some time with Rebecca. She graduated from highschool and is very much looking forward to university at SFU next year.
Time in Vancouver was spent with family, as I hadn’t seen my brother, sister-in-law or their three children in over 2 years! Crazy. Annie was in absolute heaven, and my nephew and nieces were wonderful to her, not to mention very patient with her exuberance.
And I got to actually go to work for 2 days!! Those of you who daily go into an office for a living might question my sanity, but I was as excited as a schoolgirl to be meeting with live humans and exchanging ideas about interesting things.
The first week in Manitoba was a whirl of spending time with family and preparation for my Dad’s 80th birthday. At the last minute I, with the help of the family, put together a slide show of some photos. This is the first time I’ve tried to do this and I’m pretty pleased with the results. I could have smoothed out the music transitions more and certainly cut about 5 minutes from the grandkid section (hey, I love looking at pictures of my daughter, nieces and nephews…why wouldn’t you?), but overall a good first effort. I uploaded it to YouTube if you want to check it out. For now it is here, but could get pulled any time for unlicensed use of music, so act fast if you want to view. Sylvia and I went through great-aunt Edith’s photos and found some real treasures. My dad’s younger brother, Ross, died when he was in his 30’s, so there were a few tears in the audience remembering him and their time together.
Beyond that it has been a fantastic time of visiting with friends and family at the cottage, oodles of hours swimming and boating on the lake, and reconnecting with my good friends in Winnipeg.
In Winnipeg Lori, her daughter, Matheson, and Annie and I had a delightful morning at the new Children’s Garden in Assiniboine Park. Three hours just flew by for all of us.
And now I’m off to jump in the lake! Hope you are enjoying your summer as much as Annie and I are.