Going Dutch

Well, we're here in Holland and it's great. Still suffering from jet lag but that's just part of the package.

I'm sitting on Sjoerd and Gerda's couch in this lovely neighborhood with blooming trees and the only thing that I hear are the birds. Lots of cars parked on the street by hardly anyone driving them. Bikes going silently down the road side by side, sometimes with parents pushing their kids on a separate bike along. Sometimes the riders are holding hands. Lots of youngish kids playing at the local park having fun yet, no parents around.

I like it here.

I get frustrated when I see things that have been shown to work like narrow streets (easier to do when not a lot of snow...), lots of public transit, protected intersections, pretty dense homes, walkable and pleasant to walk neighborhoods, yet these things are not adopted at home. Why?

*sigh*

The birds are quieter now, so that must indicate that I should end this post now.

My evil plans are obvious

Apparently I'm an open book. For instance, the other day I sternly walked into Alice's room and demanded she come over to me because I needed help. She refused citing that she "knew what I was going to do". She said that I was just trying to hug her. So I insisted that she come over in my Sternest Dad Voice™. When she came over I picked her up and gave her a huge hug to her protests of "I knew it! Ahhh!".

I am not an evil genius (or the regular kind either). I'm not so good at the strategy or hiding my intentions. But my children know that I love them, so that will have to be enough.

I'm forgetting everything so fast

My brain is broken. I try to remember all the moments with the kids, all the cute little things, but they are leaving my brain. I can remember the now, which is something I guess. The other day Facebook popped up a post I had done from a year ago and it was Isaac with "Kevin" - he couldn't say "penguin". I remember that he did that when I saw the post, but I had forgotten it. And as much as I try while sitting here, I can't actually hear how he said it in my head.

Forgetting anything about my family makes me sad.

And I will forget. I know that. Doesn't mean I'm happy about it.

I will miss the moments how the kids were, but I love how they are now. I want it all.