The last time I wrote, we were about to leave MN after spending seven weeks there. I should say, seven warm, relaxing weeks. I am very grateful Yaminah and I had that much time there (and Tomas about a month) since now, my life is pretty much the opposite.
Now, I am back to school, and Tomas works a little more than full time (Sunday nights he also works at a youth center), Yaminah is in daycare (although we try to keep here there as short as we can, but she is usually there from 8:30-4 PM). Our life now, like for many other working/studying/otherwise busy busy families, is a kind of a puzzle, where all the little pieces need to fit together as well as possible. For us, right now things are honestly pretty crazy. I am studying teaching classes full-time and C-level Chinese full-time. I knew it would be hard to do when I started, but I wanted to give it a try, and so far, Chinese and teaching classes have been on opposite days, and I have even had a day or two a week for studying at home. I love studying Chinese, although it is very time-consuming right now and difficult to memorize all the new characters and translate difficult texts from Chinese to Swedish. So I hope to make it work. In order to do this, Tomas does most of the cooking and cleaning, which he proudly points out every so often, while still admitting that my picking-up skills are still very much required to keep our place looking nice. I call myself a studying machine, jokingly, since after Yaminah goes to bed most nights, I sit down to study again, and I also have to study on weekends. Sometimes I am so efficient, Tomas says I make him nervous! (Anyone else out there sometimes brush their teeth while going to the bathroom, to save time? Without touching anything of course. Or maybe I shouldn't admit that... :)
In any case, plus with two choirs right now, I know this sounds like I am in over my head, and I suppose I am. But...the reason I am doing this is to try to study as much as possible in as short of time as I can. I am in a hurry to have a teaching degree (I am done in June!) and so if I could also study Chinese, I see it as a bonus. And sometimes...being in over one's head, if for a limited amount of time, can be exhilarating as well. But I do admit that I am counting down the weeks until Christmas vacation (and I try not to let images of Christmas float into my head to distract me from studies too much). In any case, in less than three months it will be Christmas, and Tomas and I have a three week break. Part of me can hardly wait.
One good thing about being busy is that "the little things" become more valuable somehow. For example, the hour Yaminah and I have together before I bring her to daycare most days is such a nice one. We read books and play. And tonight we spent the whole evening together baking (delicious!) pumpkin cookies (actually pumpkin cookies with oats, cranberries, white chocolate, and sunflower seeds). After we finished baking the real cookies, Yaminah went into her room and promptly started baking pretend cookies in her little kitchen. She then became the Mommy instead, saying things like, "No, I will measure the baking soda, and then YOU can dump it in the bowl," and "Now when you put it in the bowl, you can count!" It was like hearing myself speak. Later she served me her pretend tea. First she wants me to choose which plate and cup I want of her tiny Disney cups from her Aunt Sarah, then she adds the tea, then asks, "Would you like milk? A little, or a lot?" And then finally I can drink the tea (and eat her pretend blueberry cookie).
The amazing cookie recipe can be found here. (I added a half cup sunflower seeds and used chopped dried cranberries instead).
Life is certainly about balance, and even when life is very busy, with little moments like these, even after four hours of Chinese class during the day, one can feel grounded again. How can a person NOT feel grounded and cozy-warm inside when the apartment smells this wonderful?
What little (or big) things do you do to help you feel grounded and bring balance to your busy life?
