Living Simply, Loving Deeply and Simply Celebrating

Much of the past week flowed as I assume many from here on out will; a few days of glorious sunshine spent entirely out of the house--in the sun, the sand and digging in the dirt.  On the few rainy days, we did some necessary shopping at the mall and re-learned how to play contentedly at home (sans movies).

A lot of stuff is starting to come together here--we haven't existed on our own as a family before and this move has proved an opportunity to implement several ideals we've sought to obtain in the past; I've expressed my desires to live simply and love deeply before, but this is truly an opportunity to have a fesh start.  There are no meetings, no preschool, no regular commitments.  We are free to live in whatever fashion we desire.  It is more freeing than you can imagine.

For example, I've surprisingly embraced the habit of shopping for a day or two of meals at a time--and the results are incredibly simple: meat + starch + vegetables = dinner.  Occasionally we shake things up and go meatless, but no matter how simply we do things, we've decided Friday nights will be celebratory.  John puts in a full, long week at work and knowing the following days will be spent as a family is cause for genuine celebration.

This week we did it up right and headed to the pub across the street for some beers and schnitzel...or apple juice and chicken if you're under the legal drinking age.  After dinner, we set out on a meandering walk; the entire morning had been rainy and dismal, so the girls were excited to be out in the fresh air.  We walked down Wiedener Haupstrasse, past Karlsplatz to the Staatsoper, where we paused to enjoy the end of the opera performance that was also being broadcast outside the opera house on the big screen. When the stars of the show came out to take their bows, we continued on towards the Stephansdom...where all roads here seem to lead (as far as we're concerned).  We passed street performers playing the accordion or singing opera, a string quartet playing Handel's Passacaille from Suite No. 7, even break dancers pumping out mad jams that Bailey busted out some moves for.  We bought the girls some ice cream and sat, taking in one of our favorite Viennese sights as the sun went down.  The girls were content to eat their ice creams and twirl in their flippy skirts, making passers-by crack a smile or even do a little dance of their own.

In a community that is now mostly full of strangers, as life in any big city is bound to be, I find this is my favorite way to shine a little light in the world--by letting my girls do their thing.  I let them wear their shiny shoes and flippy skirts, eat ice cream and sing in the train station or dance in a public square.  The Viennese, as a people, tend to have a reputation for being a bit uppity--aloof--unwilling to make eye contact or smile at strangers, but I've happily found my girls seem to be the antidote to those behaviors.  Aside from our grouch of a neighbor in our old apartment building, we've really only had people comment on how sweet our girls are and I've caught more than a handful of people sneaking a smile at them on the U-Bahn.

As always, I'm just floored by how God can use children to shine light into the darkness.  I might be their mother, but really, He was the one who brought them into this world and He has brought them to this place where, for the moment, I feel one of our main purposes in life is to be out in the world spreading joy...one flippy skirt and reluctant smile at a time.