Monday 16 March. I had marked this date in my calendar for months in advance. This is THE day, the big day, my competition day! Months of studying would be finally over! I would let my cleaning lady in, take the kids to school and head for my great all-day-challenge at the EU quarter! Weehaa!!
Well it is Monday 16 alright, but my cleaning lady will not come, neither will I drop the kids to school or go try my wings to change my career. I cross over my competition in the calendar. I also cross over girls piano audition, and my yoga retreat, as well as friends over for dinner party. Not fun.
After breakfast, I set up the kids to start our first day of home schooling. I hear from distance my husband informs me that we do not have any Internet. We actually don’t have Internet. I check my phone for a notification from the service provider, nothing. The whole Belgium has been instructed to telework and e-learn, and -as we find out after persistently calling them - our service provider is conducting a planned maintenance for the next 6 hours..This country does not stop amazing me.
It is evening, it has been a long day, I won’t go much longer. I changed the title having spoken with friends in Spain, who are actually in full confinement, no going outside except for grocery stores. I feel their pain in an apartment with two young children. I send a small prayer that all the Belgians would understand to respect the semi-confinement and the consequences that breaking it will lead to.
Monday, 16 March 2020
Sunday, 15 March 2020
Corona - Semi-Confinement day 2
“Today is children’s day” proclaimed my eldest daughter. “ That means, we get to decide the program. Everything.” We looked at each other with my husband. The day starts strong. Clearly there had been something off in yesterday’s program. “Fine, great idea. As long as it includes regular meal times, outdoor activities and one nap (at least)”
The day ended up being superb. The kids baked muffins, we went for a long walk with new neighbours (keeping distance!) with kids similar age. We met so many friends at the park. Everybody feeling seemingly awkward, still getting used to the new social rules: no kissing, handshakes, but the Finnish greeting: distant wave and hi😃 or the ankle greeting, although not so sure about that either, the virus can stay 3 days on a surface. Other observations: so many people - in family formation - outdoors, biking, walk-in, jogging! From what dream world is this! At home the kids played board games together, cared for puppies, prepared salt-dough and made figurines. Very limited tv time in the evening.
The crises management sent another email calling for individual responsibility to respect the Confinement and limit social interactions. The Prime minister sent a video speech, calling especially the youth to avoid spending time with each other, although bars and restaurants are closed. Apparently, several people had organised “lock-in parties” on Friday evening, before the start of the Confinement at midnight. The idiots. The number of contamination in Belgium is over 800. The eldest and ill are the most vulnerable ones, but nobody is immune to the virus. We already agreed with my husband, no play dates indoors.
This is nature giving a lesson to humanity. Giving a slap to globalisation, over-consumption, over-traveling. Creating tremendous pressure to our healthcare, unemployment and hard-ship likely driving our economies into recession.
At the same time there is the amazing Window of opportunity. These exceptional circumstances push the society with unprecedented speed towards awareness. Forcing us back to the basics, spending time with our closest ones, face our fears, turn in for introspection.
The day ended up being superb. The kids baked muffins, we went for a long walk with new neighbours (keeping distance!) with kids similar age. We met so many friends at the park. Everybody feeling seemingly awkward, still getting used to the new social rules: no kissing, handshakes, but the Finnish greeting: distant wave and hi😃 or the ankle greeting, although not so sure about that either, the virus can stay 3 days on a surface. Other observations: so many people - in family formation - outdoors, biking, walk-in, jogging! From what dream world is this! At home the kids played board games together, cared for puppies, prepared salt-dough and made figurines. Very limited tv time in the evening.
The crises management sent another email calling for individual responsibility to respect the Confinement and limit social interactions. The Prime minister sent a video speech, calling especially the youth to avoid spending time with each other, although bars and restaurants are closed. Apparently, several people had organised “lock-in parties” on Friday evening, before the start of the Confinement at midnight. The idiots. The number of contamination in Belgium is over 800. The eldest and ill are the most vulnerable ones, but nobody is immune to the virus. We already agreed with my husband, no play dates indoors.
This is nature giving a lesson to humanity. Giving a slap to globalisation, over-consumption, over-traveling. Creating tremendous pressure to our healthcare, unemployment and hard-ship likely driving our economies into recession.
At the same time there is the amazing Window of opportunity. These exceptional circumstances push the society with unprecedented speed towards awareness. Forcing us back to the basics, spending time with our closest ones, face our fears, turn in for introspection.
Saturday, 14 March 2020
Corona - Semi-Confinement day 1
It seems still unbelievable. The actions started straight after Carnaval break. Girls reported the Italian section in school had had only a handful of pupils retuning from holidays. The guards made checks at the school gate to interview people, checking if they had temperature. Apparently they extended the checks to school buses as well, little minds trying to remember whether they were skiing in France or Italy or Switzerland..or in all of them!Anybody coming from the Northern part of Italy was not allowed to enter the school premises and should stay 14 days in quarantine.. Girls’ school stopped immediately swimming classes and excursions, communicated clear and loud about hygiene measures and personal responsibility. Belgian schools stayed open. Swimming classes continued. At work, members were still traveling and circulating freely, from airport to our offices, without limitations. As if we were living in parallel worlds.
News came of new positive cases of the virus propagating in Belgium and the rest of the world - it was declared as pandemic. Things started moving quicker. I got used to receiving several text messages and emails per day from the Belgian crisis management unit, the School Head and the Crises management of the EU institutions. We heard about the Italian extreme measures to lock-down the whole country. Seemed utopistic still few days ago. Wednesday the school prepared its e-platform and girls came home with all of their books. European Parliament stopped all events already earlier in the week, other institutions came after. We saw it coming.
Yesterday, the Belgium government actually followed the steps of China, Italy and a few other countries and initiated a confinement today 14th March 2020 until (at least) 3 April. All activities, schools, events are suspended. Shops remain open during the week, grocery stores and pharmacists also the weekends. People are invited to telework.
First day behind. It was a beautiful sunny day with 13 degrees sunlight. We went for walk in the park. People did not were masks, apart from two persons. We made a list of activities to pick from, and a list of meals to choose. I ordered several indoor games for the kids. I decided this is going to be an opportunity, like never before, to turn the chaos into something positive.
News came of new positive cases of the virus propagating in Belgium and the rest of the world - it was declared as pandemic. Things started moving quicker. I got used to receiving several text messages and emails per day from the Belgian crisis management unit, the School Head and the Crises management of the EU institutions. We heard about the Italian extreme measures to lock-down the whole country. Seemed utopistic still few days ago. Wednesday the school prepared its e-platform and girls came home with all of their books. European Parliament stopped all events already earlier in the week, other institutions came after. We saw it coming.
Yesterday, the Belgium government actually followed the steps of China, Italy and a few other countries and initiated a confinement today 14th March 2020 until (at least) 3 April. All activities, schools, events are suspended. Shops remain open during the week, grocery stores and pharmacists also the weekends. People are invited to telework.
First day behind. It was a beautiful sunny day with 13 degrees sunlight. We went for walk in the park. People did not were masks, apart from two persons. We made a list of activities to pick from, and a list of meals to choose. I ordered several indoor games for the kids. I decided this is going to be an opportunity, like never before, to turn the chaos into something positive.
Sunday, 29 December 2019
Christmas at home
This year has been a special year and we finish it with the same tone. We actually stay home for Christmas! We were worried with my husband what might our children say about not seeing snow and the grand-parents. We obviously sold the idea very well, because they were actually Happy! What are the odds! They were so pleased with the idea that they could play with their rabbits, their toys, spend time in pyjamas..and the magic hasn’t worn out yet starting the second week of holidays. For my husband and myself it took A bit getting used to, but we have found our escapes. I go for my morning jog in the beautiful frozen park, we have seen two hilarious theatre plays, gone swimming all together , ice-skating with the girls and invited neighbours over for lunch. We definitely spend more time together as family at home than when traveling. It has been a thrill to witness my second daughter finish her reading project: the very first abcedaire! She finished it on the 24th and oh they joy of choosing the gift for the work well done! Our son is hooked from the morning to the evening with the new car circuit Santa brought. Every five minutes he reminds it is HIS own, nobody else’s. My eldest daughter seems so relaxed and happy. It makes me feel relaxed and happy. And our baby girl is nothing but relaxed, she teething and learning to run, climb and find all forbidden activities with her height of 18 months. It’s all quite wonderful. I don’t need to prepare and pack. And I already look all the more forward to our Skiing holiday in February😄
Tuesday, 19 November 2019
Wisdom from my eldest daughter
Parents meeting this year ended with tears of laughter, when the teacher of my eldest daughter (9 year), revealed me sides of her I oblivious. As it turned out, the Teacher, let’s call her Madame, had announced in class that she would be having her two young god children aged 4 and 6 visiting her soon. A side note, Madame herself does not have any children herself, has an impressive long international career in teaching in international schools worldwide and is the type you generally would not give any advice. Anyways, my daughter thought differently. At lunch time, she had squeezed next to Madame and said: “So, you have these children coming to visit you, right? Well, as you don’t probably have that much experience with young kids (!) so I could give you some tips”. I don’t think she waited before she started.
Rule number ONE: “You will probably want to go to the store with the kids, so my advice is, you set the expectations right and you tell them already before hand: “You won’t get anything”. This will avoid a lot of humiliating bargaining and crying in public”.
Rule number TWO: “You should always carry “jokers” in your purse (like gum or lolly) that you can hand to the kids if there is a crisis anyways, But remember, you cannot give these all the time, otherwise they loose their effect”.
Rule number THREE: “When you have a meal, have them eat half of the plate and then you can give a dessert. Like a piece of cucumber or dried fruit (!!)”.
Rule number FOUR: “Kids of that age, you will need to tire them before putting them to bed. Swimming late in the evening would be best, but since they are not your own kids you probably won’t dare to go to the public pool with them(❤️).”
Rule number FIVE: “ At any case: DO NOT LET THEM SLEEP TOGETHER! Otherwise, nobody sleeps..”
Rule number FIVE: “ At any case: DO NOT LET THEM SLEEP TOGETHER! Otherwise, nobody sleeps..”
Madame told me she had applied EVERY single rule, each of them had worked like a dream, and she had even passed these instructions to the childrens parents for further use..
I was already rolling on the floor by this time, obviously also superbly proud of my daughter and her insights at the height of her nine years of which six as an older sister. I also realised the responsibility she -without being asked to do so- is already carrying in her little shoulders. The teacher concluded, that she has innate qualities that will surely serve her tremendously well in life❤️
Tuesday, 29 October 2019
Corsica in October
Our Toussaint holiday destination this year is the amazing Island of Corsica in the Mediterranean. The island has been on our destination list for years, especially while living in Nice, and we should not have waited so long! The island has impressed us all with its breathtaking views of mountain and sea, river beds in the wilderness, white sandy beaches and villages perched in the mountains. The locals have turned out to be very friendly and caring for children. Today is the third day of discovering the island, and we are ready to stay for good..
We are based at a little village Solenzara, little over one hour drive down from Bastia. Our villa is clean, basic f3 with a view to the sea and a (non-heated!) swimming pool. The lady welcomed us warmly, despite they have a long season behind and we are their last guests. During these first days we have been blessed with sun shine and an ideal of 23-25 degrees temperature. The close by beach is small, but offers all our family needs: clean, sandy beach, crystal clear water and only a handful of other people. We spend there the whole first morning. There is a little river Cannelle coming down with fresh water and the kids love floating boats and searching fish along the spring. Our 18 month old baby girl also prefers the river bed to the sea - there are no salty waves washing over!
The second day we head up to the mountainside and stop on an impressive natural river bed. The kids are amazed and despite the chilliness of the water, they adventure across the spring and back helping each other out. What an adventure! After a quick nap of the two little ones, we visit the village of Porto Vecchia, which is little over one hour drive from Solenzara. We can feel the end of season in the air, boutiques and smaller places closing. There is an idyllic little market in the centre of the village with a carousel, which our little boy obviously wants to try out. While walking down to the harbour, we grab few very acid mandarins from a tree. Kids thought it was so exotic! The harbour of Porto Vecchia is small with wonderful atmosphere. We sit down on Sucre de Canne to enjoy ice creams, this is holiday😀
The third day started early, as we had an ambitious plan to catch already the 9:30 am boat from Bonifacio to visit the islands of Lavezzi. It turned out to be such a fantastic day! The boat left an hour later, we had time to take a stroll at the harbour. Our eyes could not leave the majestic ship “Lady M” , which dominated elegantly the harbour. It made us dream. Girls thought it was slightly too big even for our big family😀 With my husband, we thought it was quite perfect. We later read it belongs to a Russian oligarch and costs only 55 M dollars..
The Islands of Lavezzi is something spectacular. They are deserted islands with peculiar rock formations. After 30 min. Boat trip from Bonifacio, we arrive to this intriguing bits of land. With my husbands nose for “ perfect spots”, we discover little corner of sandy beach only for us. The water is shallow and crystal clear. The kids get to swim to the other “island” of rocks and back. Their big concern are the little Medusa’s, which we all see plenty at the beach. I stand behind our baby girl the whole time patrolling that she won’t catch one. I manage to do parasita padottasana while doing so. Suddenly time is up and we leave hastily to catch the return boat - I feel slight anxiety with the idea of staying at this completely deserted island. The return boat trip is impressive. We learn many celebrities come to spend their holidays there, including Carline of Monaco. We stop in a cave to
admire the stalagmites hanging from the walls. But the most breathtaking sight is obviously the village of Bonifacio hanging on the edge of the hills, I wonder if the owners ever have sleepless nights about erosion..
It is time for lunch. We stop at the harbour and taste the local delicacies. I opt for an Aubergine prepared in Corsican style, which was delight. The kids eat their french fries and strawberry mousses.
We ponder if we should walk up to the citadelle on top of the hills, but the little tourist train wins.
The village has extraordinary placement on the hill. It has maintained its old time allure with little narrow streets, artisan boutiques and tiny restaurants. On downside, there are no pedestrian streets in Bonifacio! I had a feeling I should have an extra pair of arms..with tired 1, 4, 6 and 9 year olds!Fortunately the happy crowd settled down in the car and we returned to Solenzara around 18h00, just as the sun set down..
We are based at a little village Solenzara, little over one hour drive down from Bastia. Our villa is clean, basic f3 with a view to the sea and a (non-heated!) swimming pool. The lady welcomed us warmly, despite they have a long season behind and we are their last guests. During these first days we have been blessed with sun shine and an ideal of 23-25 degrees temperature. The close by beach is small, but offers all our family needs: clean, sandy beach, crystal clear water and only a handful of other people. We spend there the whole first morning. There is a little river Cannelle coming down with fresh water and the kids love floating boats and searching fish along the spring. Our 18 month old baby girl also prefers the river bed to the sea - there are no salty waves washing over!
The second day we head up to the mountainside and stop on an impressive natural river bed. The kids are amazed and despite the chilliness of the water, they adventure across the spring and back helping each other out. What an adventure! After a quick nap of the two little ones, we visit the village of Porto Vecchia, which is little over one hour drive from Solenzara. We can feel the end of season in the air, boutiques and smaller places closing. There is an idyllic little market in the centre of the village with a carousel, which our little boy obviously wants to try out. While walking down to the harbour, we grab few very acid mandarins from a tree. Kids thought it was so exotic! The harbour of Porto Vecchia is small with wonderful atmosphere. We sit down on Sucre de Canne to enjoy ice creams, this is holiday😀
The third day started early, as we had an ambitious plan to catch already the 9:30 am boat from Bonifacio to visit the islands of Lavezzi. It turned out to be such a fantastic day! The boat left an hour later, we had time to take a stroll at the harbour. Our eyes could not leave the majestic ship “Lady M” , which dominated elegantly the harbour. It made us dream. Girls thought it was slightly too big even for our big family😀 With my husband, we thought it was quite perfect. We later read it belongs to a Russian oligarch and costs only 55 M dollars..
The Islands of Lavezzi is something spectacular. They are deserted islands with peculiar rock formations. After 30 min. Boat trip from Bonifacio, we arrive to this intriguing bits of land. With my husbands nose for “ perfect spots”, we discover little corner of sandy beach only for us. The water is shallow and crystal clear. The kids get to swim to the other “island” of rocks and back. Their big concern are the little Medusa’s, which we all see plenty at the beach. I stand behind our baby girl the whole time patrolling that she won’t catch one. I manage to do parasita padottasana while doing so. Suddenly time is up and we leave hastily to catch the return boat - I feel slight anxiety with the idea of staying at this completely deserted island. The return boat trip is impressive. We learn many celebrities come to spend their holidays there, including Carline of Monaco. We stop in a cave to
admire the stalagmites hanging from the walls. But the most breathtaking sight is obviously the village of Bonifacio hanging on the edge of the hills, I wonder if the owners ever have sleepless nights about erosion..
It is time for lunch. We stop at the harbour and taste the local delicacies. I opt for an Aubergine prepared in Corsican style, which was delight. The kids eat their french fries and strawberry mousses.
We ponder if we should walk up to the citadelle on top of the hills, but the little tourist train wins.
The village has extraordinary placement on the hill. It has maintained its old time allure with little narrow streets, artisan boutiques and tiny restaurants. On downside, there are no pedestrian streets in Bonifacio! I had a feeling I should have an extra pair of arms..with tired 1, 4, 6 and 9 year olds!Fortunately the happy crowd settled down in the car and we returned to Solenzara around 18h00, just as the sun set down..
Tuesday, 8 October 2019
Wonderful Firsts
In the midst of the October rain, I seek and find joy in my surroundings by witnessing the uniqueness of every moment and the manifestations of the very “firsts” ..
Hearing laughter upstairs, my eldest hooked up with friends for the first what’s up call..
Receiving fabulous photos after the first weekend escapade with new friends..
Feeling proud and grateful for having defended my case at peace with new hierarchy..
From silence to expression, my little man explained his day at school..
Feeling intrigued and inspired after the first session with a coach..
Learning to hold and care for our two new little belier rabbit friends..
Seeing the smile on new student’s face when leaving my yoga class..
From one sister’s arm to the other, witnessing my baby girl to take her first steps..
There are as many opportunities for bewilderment as there are moments unfolding in front of our eyes. You just need to open your heart to see them ❤️
Hearing laughter upstairs, my eldest hooked up with friends for the first what’s up call..
Receiving fabulous photos after the first weekend escapade with new friends..
Feeling proud and grateful for having defended my case at peace with new hierarchy..
From silence to expression, my little man explained his day at school..
Feeling intrigued and inspired after the first session with a coach..
Learning to hold and care for our two new little belier rabbit friends..
Seeing the smile on new student’s face when leaving my yoga class..
From one sister’s arm to the other, witnessing my baby girl to take her first steps..
There are as many opportunities for bewilderment as there are moments unfolding in front of our eyes. You just need to open your heart to see them ❤️
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