a holiday inside a holiday

Jenny, Neville and Melissa were more than willing to watch the boys while we took a 24 hour break from parenthood in a lovely hotel in Camps Bay, which is a must-see beach in Cape Town.  A gorgeous, groomed beach, picture perfect views of the mountain range called the Twelve Apostles, cute shops, and the perfect restaurant or cafe at every turn make this place a favorite among locals and tourists (I wrote that even though it sounds like I took it out of Lonely Planet.  The boys stayed with Jenny and Neville and Melissa drove us to the hotel, visited the boys the next day, then collected us in the afternoon.  Thank you Attridge family for the little holiday inside our holiday

the afternoon of our arrival - going out for a coffee

shops, restaurants, palm trees, and mountains

sundowners on the pool terrace of our hotel

sunset

steak for paul, of course and seafood potjie for me; yummy

our morning coffee on the terrace

A note about commenting because several of you have said you don't do it because it's too complicated.  You don't have to log in to be able to leave a comment on the blog.  Just type your message, then your name, and check the box for anonymous.  It will then post you as anonymous, but because you've written your name, I'll know the message is from you!

homesick times two

tim, luke and mom in front of the clock tower and the houses of parliment

I feel very fortunate to be able to call London home, and I feel very fortunate to call Fort Collins home. They couldn't be more different, and that's what is so wonderful. London is, well, London. Enough said. Lately I've taken to calling Fort Collins provencial as I've been homesick for the city. Our trip into London's center yesterday satisfied that homesickness and created a lovely sense of homesickness for Fort Collins. While living in London, always at the back of my mind was the awareness of how much time in a big city is spent waiting: waiting (in line) to use the ATM, waiting (in line) to buy Tube tickets, waiting for the Tube, waiting on the Tube to move, waiting, waiting, waiting. This gentle awareness turned into a raging pain in the ass when we did it with the boys. Waiting is not on the itinerary of children. The Clock Tower is a major feature in Cars 2, Tim's current love, so we took advantage of the long layover to get out of the airport, get some fresh air, and show the real one to Tim.

on the tube

We waited in line to buy our Tube tickets only to discover that our credit cards didn't work for some reason. They worked in the shops and restaurant. So we waited in line to use the cash machine. We waited on the platform to get on the train. Tim's jetlag was starting to kick into high gear. The ride on the Tube was exciting at first and then we all fell asleep to be woken by the announcement that the entire Piccadilly line was closing for repairs. The ugly head of jetlag raised its head and started to growl. After the walk through Green Park to another Tube stop and another journey to Westminster, the beast had completely taken over Tim's body and was spitting, screaming and raging as we climbed the stairs to the street. Our son returned to his body the minute he spied The Clock Tower and we got a nice photo. Luke slept in his Ergo baby for most of the trip. Our return trip was a bit quieter and easier.

lunch at denver airport

Through all of it, I managed to soak in the essence of London. The sounds of people talking in their lovely Brisish accents, and Indian accents, and eastern European accents and all sorts of different languages. The smells and sounds of traffic: buses ("Look Daddy, a double decker bus. And there's another. And there. And there. And there!"), motorbikes, cars, bicycles, cabs, pedestrians. Mothers and nannies with prams in the park. M&S grocery stores with all kinds of tempting nibbles. Old buildings, new buildings, churches, pubs, shops, terraced houses. Ah London.

asleep at the start of our 11 hour flight from london to cape town - no, he wouldn't take off his boots

And at the same time I felt the pull of my provencial Fort Collins. The ease of getting into my car in the garage and driving at my own leisure to wherever I need to go. The smell of autumn leaves. The sounds of school buses. Watching the boys play in the front yard where neighbors drive past and slow to a crawl when they see us just in case a ball or child goes into the street.
Yes, I am fortunate.

going back to work

Last spring I applied for a job at a local high school.  I wasn't really ready to go back to work, but there aren't many job openings in this district so I thought I better take what I could get.  I had an interview with the principal, head of the English department, and a member of the English department.  The interview went well. My friend Tanya who works in the district filled me in on all the new catch phrases.  The principal called me five days later and gave me the news: "It came down to deciding between you and one other candidate.  It was a very tough decision.  We went with the other person because this candidate had experience with which we were more familiar."  What does that mean?  That's what he told me AFTER I asked if he could give me some advice about how I could do better in future interviews.  I asked Tanya what she thought.  She thought it meant that they hired someone who either did their intern teaching with them or a substitute from the past year.  Another friend of mine suggested that it was my overseas experience that put them off.  I can't do anything about the latter but I can make myself more familiar in the district, so I started substitute (supply) teaching in October.

I'm only working two days a week because they don't pay enough to cover the cost of full time child care, and we're not ready to have Luke in all day, five days a week anyway.  I'm working at a slight financial loss as it is.  I've signed up to work in grades 6-12, any subject, at all the middle schools and high schools in the district.  So far, I've worked in three of the four high schools and two of the many middle schools.  It's been great.  I love being back in the classroom where I know exactly what to do 99.9% o the time as opposed to when I'm a mother and feel like I'm making it up as I go 90% of the time.  I've covered four English classes, a math class and one PE class.  The teachers are all so well organized and the students polite enough to respond to my all-business approach that the jobs have been easier than my day to day work was as a full time teacher:  no lesson plans, no marking, no meetings, no parents, no grades, no on-going drama.  The teachers have even been good enough to leave me things to actually teach like grammar, literary terms, and ratios (yikes!  She'll have to go over that lesson again).

All of this has been possible because Paul has been so willing to help me and because Luke has been ready for nursery school.  When we first took Tim at age two, we quickly discovered that he would have benefited from it at an earlier age.  That knowledge along with Luke being the second child has made it easier to put him in school three months earlier than Tim.  I have to be at work as early as 06:45 on some days, so Paul takes on the job of getting the boys ready for and to school.  He took Luke for his first day, which pulled at my heart a little but also made me feel so fortunate to have a husband that can and will do such things with ease and joy.  Luke's taken a liking to school.  He's familiar with the place because he's been going with me to take and collect Tim since birth.  Except for a couple of tearful drop offs, he happily runs for the toys the minute he gets to his room.  When we collect him, usually both of us, he is busy playing with the toys and often doesn't leave them when he sees us.  Tim always stops whatever he is doing and runs to us.  There are some little things that we're overcoming with Luke.  He didn't eat anything at school the first two days.  Slowly, he's starting to eat there.  It also seems to shut down his bowel, but it doesn't seem to bother him.  It's just a bit messy to deal with him when he's home again.  I guess that's how he copes with change.  Maybe he's saving it all for me as a kind of protest statement.

 Paul says that it's obvious that I'm happy being back at work, and I am.  It's a break from the boys, a chance to talk Shakespeare instead of Disney, and a time to tend to my needs a little.  I'm very lucky.  I've been able to stay with the boys for so long and even now I get to be home with them most of the time.  I'm lucky that I can go to work without earning a living.  Paul takes very good care of us that way.  I wake up every morning, happy with what the day will bring.  If it's the alarm that wakes me for work, even if I've been up in the night with Luke, I'm pleased to be up and going to work.  If it's Luke that wakes me for a day with the boys at home, I'm happy that I can sleep a bit later and enjoy the slow beginning of the day that staying at home brings.

maybe that's why we call it fall

Autumn is a gentle word, even genteel.  It evokes images of firelight and golden sunsets.  It's hues are warm and comforting, the color of pumpkins and the golds, reds, purples and oranges of the leaves.  It feels like the knits and wool sweaters that I take from the shelves and start to wear, like the flannel sheets that I put on the bed.  I love autumn.

Fall is abrupt. It is harsh and final.  It sounds like breaking glass and feels like wet, stinging wind.

We've had autumn for about a month now and it has been glorious.  We had fall this week.  It did some damage to our trees but not our property.  It did this kind of damage all over town and many people were not as lucky as we were.  Some people couldn't get out of their homes. Some people were without power for a day or two (unheard of here).  Some people couldn't get their cars out from under the broken limbs.  Some people will have to get new cars.  

Fortunately, fall is on it's way out and autumn is returning today with the sun and bright blue sky.  I don't know the etymology of the word fall.  I think it's an American thing.  I could look it up, but I prefer to imagine it's origins.  It's one of the things I like about the English language: all these words.  Marrying a South African and living in Europe has given me so many more words, fun and funny words.  

sans kids - thanks jenny and neville

We took advantage of Jenny and Neville's kind offer to watch the boys for us twice while they were here this year. We went to the cabin for one night. It was wonderful to be able to sit on the front porch and sip a cup of coffee and watch fish jump without having to chase a child around. We even got to fish at the same time!

fishing in pajamas is the best

that's my fish. paul's was bigger

a nice catch (paul's fish and my husband)

Our second trip away was originally going to be four nights in Washington DC seeing the sights, visiting Kate and Karen, and enjoying a big city again. We were going to use Dad's companion passes and fly stand-by. This means that we can't make any solid plans because there might not be any seats available. Thanks to the typical overbooking and hail storms that caused numerous flight delays and cancellations, we didn't get to DC. We did, however, go to Glenwood Springs where we enjoyed my first 18 hole round of golf on a course aptly nicknamed 'The Hill,' cycled along the Colorado to where the path was underwater due to flooding, and soaked in the hot springs. We ate meals while they were hot without interruption, stayed up until very late watching junk on TV and slept in the next morning. It was great!

 teeing off on my first 18.  it went right, like a bowling ball, of course

yes, the pin is on top of that hill (mountain)

the colorado river

cheese

the sun set while we were here

 the colorado hotel, our second historical colorado hotel

we'd planned to have meals at several of the different restaurants in town but just couldn't find a reason to leave this lovely spot at the hotel and ate here often

again the hotel cafe

we even made the short hike to the cemetery where doc holiday is buried.  this is just a memorial up there, as they don't know where his body actually is.

Thank you again Jenny and Neville for watching the boys for us so that we could do this.  We are already making plans for your next visit.

pawnee buttes

Another year has passed and my in-laws are here at last. With their visits always comes a camping trip. This time, we headed east to Pawnee Buttes. When Paul first suggested this to me, I had the same reaction any self respecting Front Ranger would have: 'You want to go camping in eastern Colorado? Why?' He assured me there were trees at the campsite, so I agreed. I've flown over the Buttes several times with Dad, and I know them well as Rattlesnake Buttes from Michener's book Centennial, so I wasn't too reluctant to agree to camping on the prairie.


wind farm (photo by neville)

We spent only one night, and it's only about an hour from Fort Collins, so it was an easy trip and well worth it. The campsite is about 45 minutes away from the Buttes near the town of Briggsdale. Main Street is a dirt road. The campsite is along a mostly dry creek bed with large cottonwood trees. They even have a 'farm museum' with every kind of rusty plow you can imagine and some literature about the Dust Bowl. To get to the campsite, drive east on 14 past Ault. To get to the Buttes from the campsite is a little complicated, but the wind farm serves as a good landmark.


part of the farm museum


tim made his hat at nursery school


camp chairs are so comfortable

We drove out and had a look the first evening, and then Paul and Neville went back at 06:00 the next morning for the four mile hike around them.


paul waiting for the early morning mist to clear (photo by neville)

Jenny and I were happy to watch the boys play around the tents and in the dirt.


luke climbed into the fire pit and tim followed closely behind. they played there for nearly an hour, but what a mess

We were back home by 12:30 on Sunday. It's no Maroon Bells, but it's worth seeing, especially if you're a native or near native and have never camped on the prairie.

horsetooth and mud

Kate, a former colleague of Paul's who now lives in DC, came out for a long weekend and we all took a walk up the foothills to a view for Horsetooth Reservoir and the city.


kate, luke and kathleen at the top of our walk

We were going to walk down again, but the mud was so thick and slippery that Paul volunteered to retrieve the car and fetch us at the top. While waiting for him, the boys did what boys do: played in the mud.








the family

mother's day

The weather and Paul made this not just a great Mother's Day, but a great day period. Tim woke me with a whispered 'Happy Mother's Day.' He was carrying a travel mug full of hot coffee and cards from him and Luke. Like most Sundays Paul was up before me; a side effect of Luke's sleep issues. We were all outside by 08:00, to and from the park by 11:00 and enjoying BBQ ribs by mid-afternoon.


paul doing the work on my bike (it is mother's day after all)


having a nap in his bike carriage at the park


he never stops


just a short bike ride from our house


next to running, he loves climbing


some mommy time


decided that getting in the water fully dressed was a good idea


spent the rest of the day in nothing but his sandals

I think we were outside for 12 solid hours, just soaking in the gorgeous spring weather.



It's a day for children to celebrate Mom, but when the children are as young as Tim and Luke, it all falls on the father. As with all his fatherly actions, Paul rose to the occasion. Thank you Love.


the perfect bouquet