Every so often I see how long it has been since I wrote a blog and think, "Whoa! I owe the readers an update at least." Then there are times when I think, "Your life and thoughts really aren't that fascinating that you should devote a blog to it." Mostly, I view the latter voice as an annoying leftover from childhood, but all too often I give in to it and keep my thoughts inside. Lately, life has been routine, and that is good for me. But it also means I can struggle for something to write about even if NBF keeps asking me...are you blogging?? every time I grab my personal computer. I am almost certain you don't care how I balance housework with my career. Although, come to think of it, you might actually want my recipe for chocolate cake. He keeps suggesting adventures so that then I will HAVE to blog which is a good thing because I don't think I could do blogging about Martha Stewart type endeavors. At times, work drains my creativity tank even if it generates plenty of material. I try not to write so much about work because I live there enough, but one day I will sit down and write more about my experiences at Children's International School Ullensaker. Sometimes I feel guilty because I think maybe I am not giving enough credit to the everyday things that make my life what it is. I do still find wonder in the small things and have meaningful conversations and interactions that impact me in a major way. And I am mindful that not all stories are mine to tell. Needless to say, it is conflicted up in the old word generator. Of course, I say my life is routine, but I am still small town Kansas living an international life. Even if it isn't running the course I imagined, my life here really is wonderful. A couple of my goals when I moved here were to say yes more often and to not reach a point where I take the beauty for granted. I think I killed two birds with one stone jumping into the fjord by our cabin with NBF. The view from the pier by our shoreline is simply breathtaking to me. I may have seen more beautiful fjords in my time here, but this one is extra special because a piece is "mine". The decision to say yes to jumping in was not such a thing of beauty. I watched NBF do it twice before I could gather my nerve. The water was take your breath away cold. I was so shocked that I could barely speak. I have new respect for people that do winter swimming/dipping. I am not sure that is the activity for me, but I did say yes to jumping in last week and again this week. I was not looking forward to this repeat jump, but NBF says we should make it a summer ritual to take a dip every week. He is so excited to share this little bit of his traditions and feel good activity that I hate to decline. To my surprise, the water was warm enough that I could wade in instead of jumping. Last week I had to jump or I would have chickened out! It is amazing the difference a week can make. Cabin life is growing on me. Except for hauling all the water we use up those stairs, but that project is a work in progress. In fact, there is a lot of work to be done. Enough so that I think we could spend all summer there and not clear off the to do list. It's not like we are going at the list like dedicated employees, though. We have made plenty of time for sitting outside by the fire, snuggling on the sofa, and of course, the weekly dip. We even managed to take the poles and try some fishing, but we need to revisit our plans for fishing. That was not a successful venture. I do think we are nearly to the point where we can simply bring food and water to be good to stay a few days which is progress.
This week we brought a lilac from home to plant at the cabin. Behind our shed at home, we have so many lilacs that we created a special bed for transplanting them into so we can have the scent of lilacs in our bedroom. I have always wanted to try to find some white ones, and wouldn't you know, we have little white lilac saplings at the cabin. We made a plan to make a trade because there are no purple ones out there. It's still hard to believe that it is ours. Even with all the work, we have many conversations about how lucky we are and about how good life is for us. So good in fact that I didn't want to leave today. I told NBF that maybe I could just drive home to trade some stuff and then do home office from the cabin for a couple of days. That is actually part of our plan for summer, but not for this part of the summer. It is weird to think about working in the summer. It has already begun to be somewhat odd as July is considered holiday month in Norway, so a lot of people take their vacation during this time. I was the only person in the office for the first part of Monday, and one of three people in the office on Wednesday. Of course, we are entitled to five weeks of vacation, so I could be taking some of summer off, but NBF and I have other plans. At this time, I plan to take two weeks spread throughout the year. NBF and I aren't taking a big vacation, and he needs to save his days for his last year of school. However, I am still trying to wrap my mind around not having the summer off. I can tell you, I do like being able to plan my vacations and days off outside of school vacations when everything is packed and expensive, and I will not be able to sink into my lack of schedule slump. Plus, a perk at my job is being able to shift a little bit of office time to home, so I can actually have home office at the cabin and it will seem a little more vacation-ish. Hopefully this helps ease the transition into the very adult life of working all year round. All in all, I am excited to see what the summer brings as we have plans to visit a few places near us and to keep enjoying those weekly dips...even if it means I don't get my usual teacher summer. But for now, I leave you with a thought that I find heartwarmingly mushy and just sums up how my heart feels these days. Three years ago on midsummer's eve at a cabin near the ocean, NBF told me he loved me for the very first time. He has a bracelet with the cabin coordinates that has long since broken. Now, we can stand on the veranda of our own cabin professing our love for each other. P.S. Much like this blog post, our cabin needs a title or name. Any good ideas?
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Nellie HillJust a woman leaping outside her comfort zone and telling the tale. Archives
April 2024
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