Benjamin is really getting in to the idea of camping. For several practical reasons, starting with the fact that we have a 10 month old and ending with the fact that our tent is in storage somewhere in Virginia, that isn’t going to happen anytime soon. However, he loves to play “tent”. He climbs under the covers of a bed, or under any available blanket, sheet or towel, puts all of his stuffed animals or other precious toys inside and pretends he’s in a tent. He always has to play tent with someone else — usually his Grandma. This has provided hundreds of hours of enjoyment for Benjamin and various members of his family.
Sleepover with Grandma
August 3rd, 2011Dance Party Osterreich
August 2nd, 2011On a whim this afternoon, my mom and I packed the boys into the double stroller and set out for a walk with no particular destination in mind. We got a couple of eiskaffees and started walking down the Ringstrasse to look at some of Vienna’s sights: the Rathaus, Parliament, the Volksgarten, the Hofburg. We came upon a place I’d seen before but not visited: the Burggarten behind the Hofburg. Dan joined us there when he got off of work.
It was lovely, as most of the gardens in Vienna are, if a little less . . . orderly. I have not yet seen a place where so many people disregard the “keep off the grass” signs. But, it was beautiful, verdant and very popular. Benjamin made friends with a little girl his own age by a fountain — they played chase and flirted until she ran off for an older, badder boy. (He seems to have gotten over it.) We really enjoyed it, and it was fun to make another discovery of a nice place to walk and enjoy Vienna.
Then, on our way out, we joined into an impromptu swing dance party. Right behind the Hofburg, at the base of the stone steps, on the wide marble walkway, people were dancing enthusiastic, American style triple swing and Lindy Hop. Dan and I joined in, and Benjamin quickly added himself to the mix. We all took turns — Liam and my mom danced, too. It was great to dance again — it’s been a while. We danced ourselves to exhaustion — even Benjamin just wanted to watch by the end. And then, when we were done, Dan got up the courage to talk to the assembled dancers and ask whether they get together often (they apparently do, and we got their information).
We had a great day. I am worn out. Now I remember why I was in such great shape when I was dancing.
Survival in Vienna
August 1st, 2011I started my first formal training in German today — the class is called “Survival in Vienna”, so I think it’s right for me. It’s put on by the UN, so it’s geared towards people from a variety of backgrounds, all of whom are assumed to understand English but not German. However (perhaps to mimic the immersion we’re experiencing in Vienna) the class is taught completely in German. (Yikes.)
Cowboy mentality
July 31st, 2011Being an American and travelling the world can be tough. As a people, we’re criticised a lot: we appear to believe that jeans and a t-shirt are appropriate for nearly all occasions, we travel abroad without speaking the language, and we make eye contact, smile, greet and make small talk with complete strangers.
There are plenty of things for which Americans can be fairly criticized, but I think these things are misunderstood. People around the world, and Europeans in particular, take our chosen attire as a sign that we’re lazy and completely without fashion consciousness. They think our lack of foriegn language training means that we’re rude and uneducated, and our friendliness to strangers means that we’re superficial and insincere. Although there may be bits of truth to parts of that, I think, as a nation and a culture, we have a cowboy mentality. We’re from a (relatively) young nation, used to pushing the frontier and surviving by our wits. We’re accustomed to making ourselves comfortable in nearly any environment, and we love to explore. We have a spirit of adventure, confidence and enthusiasm that we take out into the world.
Nein!
July 30th, 2011Benjamin is a talker. He has vastly surpassed what is expected for a child his age — speaking to him is a lot like speaking to an adult. He’s even been quickly picking up words in German: he’s just the right age, he picks up language easily in general and, frankly, we watch a fair bit of Nick, Jr. in German. But, up until recently, he’s only spoken German when specifically prompted. He has added his first unsolicited word in German, and it is (of course): “Nein!”
For a lot of kids, their first word is “no” (or whatever is the appropriate variant for their native language) but for Benjamin, his first word was “down” and he didn’t really overuse “no” for his first couple of years of speaking. But, “nein” has become one of his most common utterances these days.
It’s fun to see him picking up the language without any particular effort on either of our parts. It’s as though he’s just absorbing it out of the air. And, honestly, hearing your three year old run around the house chanting “nein!” is a lot cuter and less irritating than “no!” (I think it fails to push the same emotional button.) Maybe we’ll get lucky and we’ll pass through the “terrible threes” in German — and I might not even understand enough of what he’s saying to be driven crazy by it.
Grandma’s big adventure
July 29th, 2011After 27+ hours in transit, my mom arrived here in Vienna yesterday evening. (Yay!) I went to meet her at the airport, brought her home, she played with Benjamin and Liam (mostly Benjamin, because it was late and Liam fell asleep shortly after she arrived). We let Benjamin stay up late to play with Grandma — he was thrilled.
I want my mommy
July 28th, 2011If all goes well, my mom will arrive here in Vienna in a few hours. I am so excited — this will be the first time I’ve seen her (or anyone in my family, aside from on Skype) since we came here in April. This is the longest I’ve ever been away from my mom (and my family in general).
Her trip kind of came together at the last minute (thanks to a wonderful aunt who helped her get here) so we didn’t know for sure that she was coming until she got on the plane yesterday afternoon.
I can’t wait to see her. I can’t wait to show her our place, my favorite things in Vienna, and to have her share in how wonderful Benjamin and Liam are right now. Especially Liam — she hasn’t seen him for 40% of his life, so he’s basically a completely different creature than he was the last time she saw him. She’s going to get to know him all over again. And, I can’t wait just to talk to her. I’ve missed her so much.
I’m so excited to have her visit! Yay!
Yelling
July 27th, 2011I yelled at Benjamin today. Again. I feel awful. Again.
It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen from time to time — I’m stressed out, and one of the kids does something that is, legitimately, frustrating or anger-worthy, and I get upset. But, I get more upset than is warranted by whatever it is that they did.
In my own way
July 26th, 2011The thing about the fear of success is that it doesn’t manifest in an obvious way. Very few people sit around and think, “Success? Oh, yeah, I don’t want that! That sounds awful! I’m afraid of it!” That isn’t how it goes — it’s much more insidious than that.
Magic
July 25th, 2011A few years ago (pre-kids) I was talking to a friend about what I wanted in my life that I didn’t have — I struggled to come up with the right word, and finally settled on “magic”. At which point she looked at me like I had, perhaps, lost track of reality. I wasn’t talking about magic like Harry Potter: wands and spells and potions (although, if there really is a Hogwarts out there somewhere, and I get my letter, I’m absolutely going). I didn’t, at the time, really know how to explain what I meant.
I do now. The kind of magic I wanted in my life is exactly what I have now — it’s the kind of magic you get watching your children play with a balloon or look at a ladybug or wake up Christmas morning. It’s the kind of magic that you feel when you do something pretty ordinary and your kids are just amazed by it: making cookies, drawing with chalk, fixing a favorite toy.
I get to have the privilege of discovering the wonder and magic of childhood all over again, by witnessing my children’s experiences. I absolutely love it. And there’s the feeling that I get when I look into their faces or hear them call for me or hold their hands. If that isn’t magic, I don’t know what is.