Sunday Funday

This morning Owen and I went down to the creek for more playing with the boat. Later Rahel and Renate joined us. Then all seven of us used a car-share to drive to Glottertal for a Summerfest where Daniel's band (Renate's brother) was playing. We also met up with her parents. It was a fun, restful way to spend a Sunday.
Since this is a short blog I will also comment on two things: Travel and Children and Books as Friends.

Travel and Children

As much as I miss Laurel and Justin, I am so happy with Owen. So many times a day I see that brightness in his eyes as he sees a new sight or enjoys a simple pleasure. It is easy to enjoy the details with just one person to keep happy. I am also grateful to be with Renate and Andy and their wonderful family. They have the pace to their life that I will strive to achieve. Everyday Renate prepares a wholesome meal that always includes that secret ingredient-love. Owen and I have only been here a week but already I have seen Owen's confidence with new situations improve and a better sense of adventure for trying new things. Today he waited on line for face painting and asked for a Schnurrbart- if you are not sure what this is, check the photo below.

Books as Friends

Thank goodness we went to the bookstore before heading to the airport last week. Owen has already finished his first book and is reading his second- Greggor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins. (Btw- thank you James for the suggestion.) My friend Wendy gave me the perfect book for this trip. It is called The Power and it is a follow up to The Secret. At a time when there are so many unknowns and big changes going on, it is the ideal thing to be reading. So many parts are like the advice friends would be giving me if we were walking or hanging out. Most important, it reminds me that a positive attitude is the biggest factor so whenever I start to get nervous I repeat my summer of 2012 mantra- everything is going to turn out wonderful. What I like most about this book is that there is a lot to practice and think about. So I can read for five minutes and then think about it for the rest of the day. This is not the first time that I have read a book at that "just right" time in which the message in the book is almost like being with a good friend- but maybe even better since I can underline the sentence or dog-ear the page and go back to "visit" whenever I need to.