Not long ago I told you all about a difficult afternoon here with Lara. It was something I needed to write to help process and I also wanted to share a bit of that side of my work here. I don't think I talk about it much, I actually hope not. I is naturally a part of my daily life here and was last year too, but I learned a long time ago that you have to take those moments as they come and then let them go. What you have to really hold on to are the other moments. They can be rare and far between but its so important to remember the happy and fun or even just the content, relaxed moments. Its those times that are really much more important and which will help carry you through the difficult times.
I haven't stopped thinking about what I wrote to you last week and I feel that I need to follow up on it. It is a part of life with Lara but there is so much more to that life. I don't want you all to get hung up on this one experience and I think I've been bothered that you might. So, let me share with you some wonderful moments from this week.
On Monday Stephan, Lara and I went to the Fruhling's Festival here in Stuttgart where it was my job to ride the roller coasters with Lara. And I'm not talking about the kiddie rides folks! Wow. The ones she really loves are the ones that go fast, jerk you around a lot, and make your stomach flip. There was one ride and I got caught up in how happy Lara was and made the mistake of raising both our arms...oh man!! I didn't know that ride could go so fast and I was wondering if it would ever end!! So we had so much fun together and she was so happy when Stephan said that we would go again she said that she wanted to come with me again and ride the rides with me. Then today after supper she requested that we play fangen (chase). Again, so much fun, lots of laughing and being silly (something she doesn't allow me to do much). And she and I giggled ourselves all the way into bed.
Altogether today was one of those days where I just feel.....content. Life is good.
K.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
This past weekend was B-E-A-utiful. The whole family spent the weekend outside in the garden.
On Saturday both girls spent the whole day happily playing outside together(this is far more difficult than you might imagine), working on puzzles, reading and taking a break for a strawberry picnic in the grass. Omas and Opas stopped by to visit have a cup of coffee and enjoy the garden. Sabine and Opa Gerhard also spent some time sanding down the top of the wooden garden table. It was a wonderful relaxing day with all of us together.
Sunday morning Lara went with her Opa swimming, their weekend routine. Stephan's brother came over after lunch and the three of us went for a ride in Stephan's new "oldtimer", aka. a classic Mercedes. Pretty nice. We stopped by a building that Stephan owns and he showed me a new apartment they just finished. Stephan's business buys old buildings, renovates them and divides them into apartments, and then sells them again. Stephan and Sabine also own a few buildings personally and rent the apartments themselves. After that we went to a very beautiful park with a view of the city and sat and had a beer. Later I worked a bit in the garden and then in the evening we fired up the BBQ and sat in the garden and ate way too much supper. *Sigh* What a great weekend.
Here are a few pictures.
My attempts at helping give the garden some direction. But ultimately taking my directions from Sabine. I'd love to do so much more!! I never knew I could be so interested in gardening. But I just feel that the garden needs help!
Doesn't look like much but the dirt there is terrible and it took some serious work and muscle power to create this tiny little flower bed.
This poor cat. With the amount of pestering and picking that the girls do, I am amazed at how much he tolerates without reacting. I always feel bad for him. Daddy, Can I bring him home? He's a really sweet cat :)
MMM, BBQ.
K.
On Saturday both girls spent the whole day happily playing outside together(this is far more difficult than you might imagine), working on puzzles, reading and taking a break for a strawberry picnic in the grass. Omas and Opas stopped by to visit have a cup of coffee and enjoy the garden. Sabine and Opa Gerhard also spent some time sanding down the top of the wooden garden table. It was a wonderful relaxing day with all of us together.
Sunday morning Lara went with her Opa swimming, their weekend routine. Stephan's brother came over after lunch and the three of us went for a ride in Stephan's new "oldtimer", aka. a classic Mercedes. Pretty nice. We stopped by a building that Stephan owns and he showed me a new apartment they just finished. Stephan's business buys old buildings, renovates them and divides them into apartments, and then sells them again. Stephan and Sabine also own a few buildings personally and rent the apartments themselves. After that we went to a very beautiful park with a view of the city and sat and had a beer. Later I worked a bit in the garden and then in the evening we fired up the BBQ and sat in the garden and ate way too much supper. *Sigh* What a great weekend.
Here are a few pictures.
My attempts at helping give the garden some direction. But ultimately taking my directions from Sabine. I'd love to do so much more!! I never knew I could be so interested in gardening. But I just feel that the garden needs help!
Doesn't look like much but the dirt there is terrible and it took some serious work and muscle power to create this tiny little flower bed.
This poor cat. With the amount of pestering and picking that the girls do, I am amazed at how much he tolerates without reacting. I always feel bad for him. Daddy, Can I bring him home? He's a really sweet cat :)
MMM, BBQ.
K.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
sabine and i came to the conclusion today that perhaps what lara needs at the end of the day is just to come home, have a good long exhausting cry and release all the tension and stress of her day. why did we come to this conclusion? well, because recently she's been crying when she first comes home, for no reason apparent to us. and secondly, because today we tried to do something different, and well, it went like this.....
lara came home from school as usual at 5. i greeted her at the door and explained that we were going to walk together to get ice-cream. great. she said 'hello' and 'good-bye' to mom and lili and off we went. we got our ice-cream (one large order of spaghetti ice-cream to share) and sat in the sun at the park. we enjoyed ourselves and when the ice-cream was finished we slowly left the park and walked home. at some point on the way home it all became too much for lara. the day, the world, we never really know. i think she takes so much in throughout her day and often can't process it all, it just becomes too much.
i'm surprised that with all the people who saw me half carrying this crying, thrashing child, and all the others who must have heard her screaming, no one actually confronted me. there was one point when i thought a man who had stopped across the street was going to ask me what in the world i was doing to this child. then there was the point when lara managed to squirm free and then just sit down, which happened to be in the middle of crossing the street. i'm just glad the car coming around the corner saw us. somehow i managed to get her home, and keep her out of the street, which was my main concern. holding her all the way home also managed to help calm her and by the time we reached the house she was coming down.
it wasn't exactly the afternoon i had in mind, nor the one i had hoped for. and i'm a little sad about my lost earring and the fist full of my hair lara managed to pull out, but life goes on right. mostly i'm glad that we made it home, she and i. we made it through this meltdown (there's always more to come) and once again all is right in her world. and i tucked a happy little 8 year-old, with one missing tooth, into bed tonight.
K.
lara came home from school as usual at 5. i greeted her at the door and explained that we were going to walk together to get ice-cream. great. she said 'hello' and 'good-bye' to mom and lili and off we went. we got our ice-cream (one large order of spaghetti ice-cream to share) and sat in the sun at the park. we enjoyed ourselves and when the ice-cream was finished we slowly left the park and walked home. at some point on the way home it all became too much for lara. the day, the world, we never really know. i think she takes so much in throughout her day and often can't process it all, it just becomes too much.
i'm surprised that with all the people who saw me half carrying this crying, thrashing child, and all the others who must have heard her screaming, no one actually confronted me. there was one point when i thought a man who had stopped across the street was going to ask me what in the world i was doing to this child. then there was the point when lara managed to squirm free and then just sit down, which happened to be in the middle of crossing the street. i'm just glad the car coming around the corner saw us. somehow i managed to get her home, and keep her out of the street, which was my main concern. holding her all the way home also managed to help calm her and by the time we reached the house she was coming down.
it wasn't exactly the afternoon i had in mind, nor the one i had hoped for. and i'm a little sad about my lost earring and the fist full of my hair lara managed to pull out, but life goes on right. mostly i'm glad that we made it home, she and i. we made it through this meltdown (there's always more to come) and once again all is right in her world. and i tucked a happy little 8 year-old, with one missing tooth, into bed tonight.
K.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
A week, not quite in review.
Monday:
Caught up on some desperately needed sleep....and laundry, after my tiring weekend away with the family.
Took a long walk to enjoy the weather and a beautiful view of Stuttgart.
Sat and relaxed with a good book.
Ate dinner with the family in the garden (Love that!)
Tuesday:
Walked to the city.
Bought a few postcards then sat in the parks to write, read a bit, and just enjoy the springtime. Oh, and of course, freshen up on my people watching skills.
Helped Sabine in the garden, oiling the garden furniture and planting etc.
Played with Lili in the sandbox then made dinner.
Wednesday:
Finally exchanged Deutsche Marks (found by my father) into Euro. Thanks Dad!!
Visited the Staatsgalerie with Sabine for a little culture and then ate lunch out before picking Lili up from kindergarten.
And this afternoon....the usual routine, take a walk with Lili ending up at a playground for the rest of the afternoon.
Thursday:
Coffee with some friends from class.
More planting in the garden with the girls.
Friday:
Well, we'll just have to see what's in store!!
Caught up on some desperately needed sleep....and laundry, after my tiring weekend away with the family.
Took a long walk to enjoy the weather and a beautiful view of Stuttgart.
Sat and relaxed with a good book.
Ate dinner with the family in the garden (Love that!)
Tuesday:
Walked to the city.
Bought a few postcards then sat in the parks to write, read a bit, and just enjoy the springtime. Oh, and of course, freshen up on my people watching skills.
Helped Sabine in the garden, oiling the garden furniture and planting etc.
Played with Lili in the sandbox then made dinner.
Wednesday:
Finally exchanged Deutsche Marks (found by my father) into Euro. Thanks Dad!!
Visited the Staatsgalerie with Sabine for a little culture and then ate lunch out before picking Lili up from kindergarten.
And this afternoon....the usual routine, take a walk with Lili ending up at a playground for the rest of the afternoon.
Thursday:
Coffee with some friends from class.
More planting in the garden with the girls.
Friday:
Well, we'll just have to see what's in store!!
Friday, April 9, 2010
here and there
Back in the middle of March I traveled to Freiburg where my friend Esther is studying and from there we traveled together to Strasbourg, just on the French side of the border. Technically, it is a French city, but over the years as the border shifted, Strasbourg has alternated between French and German control. The city itself therefor presents a lot of German characteristics. And we discovered that if you don't speak French, German is definitely the way to go. Most everyone speaks German as well as French and they are much happier to speak German with you than English!!
Strasbourg:
The Cathedral of Notre Dame, Strasbourg.
Swans in the river!! The river twists and turns all around the city. Everywhere you walk you end up crossing some part of the river.
It is really such a beautiful city, with a very romantic atmosphere. The first day we just walked and walked, enjoying the sunshine (it was really warm) and sitting by the river.
This is the Astronomical clock inside the Cathedral. The clock is 18 meters tall and this is the third clock to stand in the Cathedral. This one dates back to 1843. As well as the official time, the clock also shows solar time, the day of the week (each represented by a god of mythology), the month, the year, the sign of the zodiac, the phase of the moon and the position of several planets.
At 12.30 (noon or midnight in clock time) the figures on this clock begin to move, signaling the passing of time. The first are the two angels sitting on either side of the official time clock (toward the bottom of this photo). While one angel rings a bell, the other turns over an hour glass. Then crows the rooster, from his perch at the top left of the clock.
And so begins the procession of figures. On the bottom stands a skeleton, symbolizing death, and passing by him is first a young boy, a grown man, and finally a man in old age. Above this, begins the procession of the Apostles past Christ. As each one passes, the figure of Christ lays a hand on their head.
A bit more from walking around the city.
There's always a story, right? Sooooooo. While Esther and I were walking back to our Hostel in the evening, we had to cross over the river, that is when I saw THIS!! As I started to cross the bridge I heard a rustling of something under the bridge by the water. It was coming from the opposite side of the river and it sounded large. There wasn't much light so it was difficult to make out just what it was, but as we crossed the bridge to where we could stand above the noise.....we saw it, an R.O.U.S. (who knows what that is :) ?) or The Unusually Large French Water Rat as I also like to refer to it. It was EASILY the size of a small-ish dog, a corgi is a perfect comparison actually, and it had the tail of a rodent!! AND, as Esther dropped something (no animals were harmed or attempted to harm in this process) to make it move.....it jumped in the water and propelled itself across the river to the other side!!!!! Oh man!!
Takin' a boat ride, and we've got audio guides!!
The view from the top of the cathedral tower. Taken of course by Esther while I stood in the center of the observation deck and pretended that I didn't care about how high up we were.
(Back in) Stuttgart:
Die Veitskapelle or chapel of St.Vitus in Stuttgart-Muhlhausen, is a construction of the Gothic period. It was completed in 1385!! This is a very charming tiny little thing of a chapel full of paintings and carvings etc.
Spring is here!!
Lara and I on a particularly warm day, walking to Pinguin Eis for, well, Eis!! That is, ice-cream. Specifically, Spaghetti ice-cream. Yep, Spaghetti ice-cream. Whipped cream on the bottom, vanilla ice-cream in the shape of Spaghetti noodles on top of that and to top it all off, strawberry syrup. mmmmm.
Isn't that a cute little house?! We passed it on our way home and I had to take a quick pic. Looks like a tiny little witch house.
On another one of our extremely warm days, Sabine and Lili and I made the short drive to Esslingen. This is one of a few very old cities here in Suddeutchland which were not bombed in the war. I was here in Esslingen during the Christmas time for their unique Medieval style Christmas market, meant to fit with the architectural style of the city.
Esslingen:
She was so happy to eat that ice-cream!! :)
:) K.
Strasbourg:
The Cathedral of Notre Dame, Strasbourg.
Swans in the river!! The river twists and turns all around the city. Everywhere you walk you end up crossing some part of the river.
It is really such a beautiful city, with a very romantic atmosphere. The first day we just walked and walked, enjoying the sunshine (it was really warm) and sitting by the river.
This is the Astronomical clock inside the Cathedral. The clock is 18 meters tall and this is the third clock to stand in the Cathedral. This one dates back to 1843. As well as the official time, the clock also shows solar time, the day of the week (each represented by a god of mythology), the month, the year, the sign of the zodiac, the phase of the moon and the position of several planets.
At 12.30 (noon or midnight in clock time) the figures on this clock begin to move, signaling the passing of time. The first are the two angels sitting on either side of the official time clock (toward the bottom of this photo). While one angel rings a bell, the other turns over an hour glass. Then crows the rooster, from his perch at the top left of the clock.
And so begins the procession of figures. On the bottom stands a skeleton, symbolizing death, and passing by him is first a young boy, a grown man, and finally a man in old age. Above this, begins the procession of the Apostles past Christ. As each one passes, the figure of Christ lays a hand on their head.
A bit more from walking around the city.
There's always a story, right? Sooooooo. While Esther and I were walking back to our Hostel in the evening, we had to cross over the river, that is when I saw THIS!! As I started to cross the bridge I heard a rustling of something under the bridge by the water. It was coming from the opposite side of the river and it sounded large. There wasn't much light so it was difficult to make out just what it was, but as we crossed the bridge to where we could stand above the noise.....we saw it, an R.O.U.S. (who knows what that is :) ?) or The Unusually Large French Water Rat as I also like to refer to it. It was EASILY the size of a small-ish dog, a corgi is a perfect comparison actually, and it had the tail of a rodent!! AND, as Esther dropped something (no animals were harmed or attempted to harm in this process) to make it move.....it jumped in the water and propelled itself across the river to the other side!!!!! Oh man!!
Takin' a boat ride, and we've got audio guides!!
The view from the top of the cathedral tower. Taken of course by Esther while I stood in the center of the observation deck and pretended that I didn't care about how high up we were.
(Back in) Stuttgart:
Die Veitskapelle or chapel of St.Vitus in Stuttgart-Muhlhausen, is a construction of the Gothic period. It was completed in 1385!! This is a very charming tiny little thing of a chapel full of paintings and carvings etc.
Spring is here!!
Lara and I on a particularly warm day, walking to Pinguin Eis for, well, Eis!! That is, ice-cream. Specifically, Spaghetti ice-cream. Yep, Spaghetti ice-cream. Whipped cream on the bottom, vanilla ice-cream in the shape of Spaghetti noodles on top of that and to top it all off, strawberry syrup. mmmmm.
Isn't that a cute little house?! We passed it on our way home and I had to take a quick pic. Looks like a tiny little witch house.On another one of our extremely warm days, Sabine and Lili and I made the short drive to Esslingen. This is one of a few very old cities here in Suddeutchland which were not bombed in the war. I was here in Esslingen during the Christmas time for their unique Medieval style Christmas market, meant to fit with the architectural style of the city.
Esslingen:
She was so happy to eat that ice-cream!! :)
:) K.
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