The Blog

It is interesting to me the people we meet that we will never see again. They have managed to contribute to our lives regardless and often I really wish they could be a more important part of my life then what they had been. That is life though and especially life when you are traveling and continually changing your routine. I will probably never again sit on the edge of the sandbox with the mom from Russia and the grandmother from Italy. I won't have random French boys as camping neighbors and fire starter assistants. And the thing is there is a good chance I won't remember these people in a few years. They will be cast out of my memory even though they played a small part in my life--providing advice, a listening ear, a smile and encouragement, or simply a fire pit. We can't do justice to everyone who has played a part in our life and we will never know the parts that we played in other's lives. Geez.....life.

It is funny to me that my last blog was about going to Amsterdam and this blog will be yet again about another trip to Amsterdam. Clearly I have not written in awhile and/or done anything that is exciting enough to be written about. Between that trip and this trip there has been an endless cycle of routine and weather changes. Honestly though, this is not the truth. In this time my dad has visited from the States and we had a wonderful time exploring Belgium together and seeing some wonderful things I had not yet seen since being here. It was so nice to see family from home and remember what I am missing back there. Also, Clarence has started school which means I have a few hours in the morning free to myself. Not many mind you, but it is nice not having to amuse him for a few hours which always would leave me hopelessly exhausted by lunchtime. Now I am able to face the evening with a renewed energy and the girls now see me as a much kinder, more playful human being, since I am not forced to prop myself up on over sized plastic toys just to make it through the evening awake.

But back to Amsterdam. This past weekend myself and five other girls (two Australians, two Americans, and two Scandinavians) packed up some tents, some sleeping bags, and a ton of warm clothing and made our way to a small camp ground located right on the edge of Amsterdam. We fought for tent space and struggled to put the tent up, but in the end we toasted our success with cheap wine in plastic tea cups and sausages we grilled on the neighbors' little charcoal grill. Even though some of us worried and had nightmares of ducks stealing our food, we managed to survive the freezing cold night in our many colorful layers huddling together for body warmth. The next day we boarded overcrowded buses in order to 'tiptoe through the tulips' of Holland. And the tulips were amazing. Every shape and every color made it's appearance.