St. Martins
November 12, 2018
Last night we went out to Amstelveen to help my new friend Heidi hang up some shelves. She’s one of the moms I met at James Wilson’s school and her kids are around JW’s age. She cooked us an amazing dinner, and it was so nice to hang out in her house and relax with our families. JW had fun playing with their dogs and their bird, Peaches, and he and Liam and Sage got to know each other a bit and I could tell it was really good for him. He was animated and talkative on the bus ride home, and I know the night bolstered his spirits.
It was also St. Martin’s, which is a holiday in the Netherlands. Kids come around with colorful hand-made paper lanterns and sing a song and then get candy. It was really cute, and even though it was a rainy night, the kids were all out.
That’s one thing we are learning here — you can not let the weather deter you from living your life. It’s dark here early now, and it’s raining a lot and getting cold. It doesn’t seem to hinder anyone here, despite the fact that bicycling is the main form of transpo. It’s amazing to see parents riding their bikes with multiple kids strapped on, in baskets, carts, bike seats, or just hanging off the back, even in the rain. Everyone has rain gear (and I will never cease to be amazed by the people who can ride a bike while carrying an umbrella) but they also just accept that they are going to get wet and that’s the way it is.
As far as living life goes, I seem to be doing pretty well and have been keeping busy. Last week I went on an excursion to a Polish pottery factory with some of the women from AWCA, and afterward we stopped for lunch in Naarden — an old garrison town that was super old-world and charming.
One of James Wilson’s favorite things about living life here in Amsterdam is that he can walk to the corner grocery store and buy fake crab meat, which he claims is an excellent snack.
Life is good!
