Everything is Relative

It's been almost a year ago that we left on our 3 month adventure to Europe.  We read many blogs about families that did the same sort of world travel and more than a few of them came back to the U.S. and sold their homes and decided to live differently.  Of course we knew we would never do something quite so drastic.......can you see where this is going?

We love our home and it has served us well the last 12 years and now it is time for a change.  After living for 3 months with just the clothes and necessities on our backs we realized that we don't need all the extra.  I personally felt like I was stuffocating when we got back.  Sure, it's all nice stuff but I started to feel in bondage to it.  Dennis and I shared our feelings and thoughts on a regular basis as we evaluated our life here vs. there.  So much in life is relative.  We now had a stark difference to compare to and we could really disect our lifestyle and make the appropriate changes instead of wallowing in our emotions and not doing anything about it.  We did need to step outside our "normal" lives to get a clear picture of what we wanted and to see distinctly what we needed to do differently.   

It was so good to be home and see friends and family, but honestly my heart ached and longed to go back shortly after we had returned.  That is not something I felt I could share except with the sweet people that had the same experience I did.  We all agreed, it was a strange feeling but it's how we felt.  We asked ourselves, what is it we miss?  It was or is a combination of a few things: the closeness to each other and seeing God's hand at work daily as we relied heavily on him and then waiting and watching how he worked as our days unfolded.  No distraction of tv or phones allowed for us to be mindful of each other and our surroundings. We were spoiled with every day being a new adventure and lurking around every corner were photo opps and stories waiting to be brought back home. There were  memories to be made and our senses stimulated by everything new and desiring to absorb every moment so as not to forget it.

It's funny, I have lived in this area for 37 years minus 3 months and when it rains I think of Switzerland.  When I hear the deep moo of a cow I remember the soft pink noses on my morning runs through the pastures outside the villages.  When I eat my mom's homemade pizza I long for Rome.  When my feet hit a brambly trail with overgrown trees I think of Germany.  What's wrong with me?  Well, it's not just me.  The girls step out on the porch in the morning and say, "Today feels like a cool morning in Switzerland" or "the sunset reminds me of Bad Tolz, Germany." 

On our way back to the USA we asked everybody if they'd go again and for how long.  Everyone agreed on 6 weeks.  Three weeks ago Dennis went down to tell the girls good night and didn't come back up for two hours.  He walked in the bedroom with glassy eyes and told me about his conversation with them.  The girls want to go back for another 3 months and do everything over again, exactly the same.  They said, "We even want to go through all the boring museums that Mom drug us through."  What a gift to our ears.

Raleigh 2 1/2, Our Little Gentleman

Yes, we are simplifying our lives. 
We sold our house by word of mouth in a matter of weeks.  I knocked on the door of a home that had been for sale earlier in the year, flowers in hand and no idea what waited for me on the other side. Within 48 hours I heard back from the owners daughter that they would be willing to rent to our family.   We were an answer to each other's prayers. 

How do the kids feel about it? From the moment we mentioned it they were excited with comments like, "We don't need this big house."  I don't think it would have been so easy had we not lived in such close quarters for 3 months.  We are all excited and ready to let go of a few things. So we now have a new little adventure beginning right at home! 

For our far-away friends we posted some pics of the kids because they have changed some since our last post.  Still the same silly kids just a little taller.


Ireland (14) 



Indi (14)

Annabelle, our Ballerina (10 )

We were in downtown Madrid for one week, our last week.  Our minds were boggled every day at the multifaceted city.  Madrid is the largest city in Spain and the third largest in the European Union.
Our apartment was spacious and clean and only two blocks from a main artery of the city, two blocks from high fashion, two blocks from Starbucks, two blocks from a bakery, two blocks from a grocery store.  I knew from the moment we met we would become fast friends, this city and I.

We arrived on the Tuesday night before Thanksgiving.  The girls found an English speaking channel with a rusty brown western and were so excited to be watching the first bits of t.v. in three months, even Raleigh was taken with it.  While they were en-tranced Dennis and I scooted out for a trip to the grocery store, giddy to see what funny things we could find.  Everything seemed so normal and lovely until the syrup we had longed for during the past 11 weeks was now right in front of us.....under lock and key!

Also in a locked box was canned ham!

We tried to gather up the things needed for a good Thanksgiving meal along with other essentials for the week and jumped in the shortest line.  The little lady ahead of us must have been shopping for the soup kitchen.  We stood in line behind her for 20 minutes but enjoyed watching all that went on around us.  Most people were having their groceries bagged and then put into gray bins with wheels, then the checker would tape the customer's name and number to their bins and wheel them to what appeared to be security personnel.  We did not understand what was happening until we were out on the sidewalk.  Customers leave their groceries in the store while they get their car and then pick them up.  Life without parking lots....it never occurred to us what that might be like. 

We were lucky enough to find a parking space just around the corner from our apartment but would need to plug the meter every two hours or go to a parking garage for an unreasonable amount.  A parking ticket would be 90 Euros if we missed plugging the meter so we opted to turn our car in the next day and take the next week of city by foot and subway.  Little did we know we would walk 45 glorious miles over the next 6 days.

We started our journey to one of the main plazas and were amazed at what seemed to be lots of people.  At the next plaza we took in the bizarre sights of people dressed up in all sorts of get-ups hoping to score a few coins.  It was a Wednesay.  Just another day for these people of the city and for us it seemed to be an extravaganza.

This spiderman lacked the physique of the one I remember in the movies. 

This G.I. Joe stood perfectly still until a coin was tossed in his bucket and then he would move in a mechanical-like state.

Thanksgiving Morning:

 I am sitting in a Starbucks looking out the window as people pass by un-aware of the Thanksgiving holiday that so many Americans are celebrating today.

We are thankful for so much! I watch the man in a nice suit trying to get comfortable in his cardboard box and covering up the best he can with his overcoat. I wonder where his family is and what is his story. He looks like any other normal business man walking down the street. I think of all the cozy blankets mom has made us that are stacked floor to ceiling in the store room and wish I could share.

Our meal was quite lack-luster compared to what we are used to having, but we were all together and feeling very thankful.  Oh, who am I kidding, we were disappointed.  The mashed potatoes were lumpy and of bizarre consistency, the beans were blah because we had no salt, the meat was fine and the wine was good but I felt a little grumbly. 

We know it's time to come back home when Raleigh needs the iPad and a Starbucks to get his day started.

Raleigh loves shopping for accessories.

Raleigh learns to shave with a spoon!

Raleigh has an affection towards foriegn girls.  Blowing kisses and
giving hugs. He is adored by young and old.

What is it about a lock that makes one want to get to the other side?

Undercover agent for the Madrid Police

The bricks of a road can look much like a day in our life; they can all look the same from a distance but when each one is noted for its' special character we can appreciate it much more.

A Quick Note

We made it home to the USA safely. Once we are settled I will share our week of living in Spain's largest city, Madrid.

Many blessings to you all in this advent season.

Museo de Bellas Artes in Seville

Just when we think we can't do another museum we are fascinated all over again.  Museo de Bellas Artes in Seville is an art museum, housed in a former convent, portraying the works of famous spanish artists.  We walked along the gardens, looking at the tiled walls and I wondered if I was going to be in trouble for dragging everyone through another museum.  We had already walked several miles to get there.

There are 14 separate rooms with different works none of which we would probably recognize.  We asked where to start and the staff said the best room was number five.  We went straight there.  I am a save-the-best-for-last sort of girl but not in the case of museums.

Our breaths were taken away upon entering the unforgettable room number five.  The girls asked to go back to the gift shop so they could purchase books and pencils to make notes on what they saw.

The room was filled with altarpieces.  The Catholic Church required pictures to teach and win over the faithful.  From the Renaissance onwards, chapels began to be filled with these explanatory scenes.

The painting the girls are looking at is what we know as the Immaculate Conception by Murillo in 1665. The artist uses a technique that makes the lighter colors seem heavenly and the dark a mysterious level of black .

This is the Martyrdom of Saint Andrew by Roelas.  He used the contrast of earthly and heavenly planes in most of his works.

Beautiful Ceiling

After bathing in the works of Spanish painters from the 15th and 16th century we moved on to the lesser rooms but were pleasantly surprised.

The head of John the Baptist done by Delgado in 1591.

I noticed it was donated in 1980.  I wonder if this was sitting in someone's living room.

Sevillano 1790
Does this look familar?  I guess Michaelangelo wasn't the only one to depict the Last Supper.  There were several different "Last Suppers"

                                    Weeping over the Dead Christ by Millan in 1490 out of clay.

We were all captivated with room five and Dennis and I could have spent days in the rest of the museum's rooms.  But the girls' legs were exhausted and we still needed to get back home so it was time to say good-bye.

We are thankful for the paintings and sculptures that so vividly tell the stories of the past.

Seville's Cathedral and Plaza de Espana

Seville's Saint Mary's Cathedral is the largest gothic cathedral in the world and the third largest Christian church in the world. It was a mosque that had been Christianized in 1248.  It was ruined in the 1300's because of an earth quake and then re-built in 1402 because the mosque wasn't in good condition. The decision of the members of the church head was: "Let a church so beautiful and so great that those who see it built will think we are mad." The construction was finished in 1506.



Interesting tid bits: The altar piece is the largest in the world at 98 feet high and 66 feet wide.

The tomb of Christopher Columbus resides here.

The cathedral contains 80 chapels.

Replica of the minaret that stands a-top the bell tower.

Buildings that have replicated the Giralda are
the Wrigley building in Chicago and a building in
Kansas City along with the Ferry building in San 
Francisco. 

One of the pieces of the mosque that was kept was the minaret.  A minaret is a distinctive architectural feature of Islamic mosques generally a tall spire with an onion shaped or conical crown, usually either free standing or taller than any associated support structure. The basic form of a minaret includes a base, shaft, and gallery. Styles vary regionally and by period. Minarets provide a visual focal point and are used for the call to prayer. (thank you Wikipedia). 

Cathedral's bell tower with minaret of a woman on top.



A portion of the backside of the cathedral.

The Seville Cathedral is surrounded by small columns linked with huge chains. These chains were placed in 1565 to prevent the merchants from entering the temple with their horses when the weather was bad. It also marked the boundaries of the sacred places, where the civil justice could not be enforced. People used to go there looking for protection and redemption




Another building we walked by had beautiful hand carvings that appear to be abstract unil a closer look was taken. How many faces can you see in this small area? Their are over 5,000 carvings of faces on the building.

.

Another side of the well carved building.

Plaza de Espana

Each in-let along the left side contained a mosaic of Spanish
cities.

Plaza de Espana was built for a world's fair held in Seville, Spain from May 9, 1929 to June 21, 1930. Countries in attendance of the exposition included: Portugal, The United States, Brazil, Uruguay, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Chile, the Republic of Colombia, Cuba, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Ecuador. The purpose of the exposition was to improve relations between Spain and the countries in attendance, many of which were former Spanish colonies.

Raleigh stands in front of a mosaic representing one of the cities

The hand painted tile work was  beautiful.  The whole square was vast yet romantic with the boats rowing around the circle. 

The red hair must have intrigued the Japanese tourists as they crowded around Raleigh to take his photo and later the girls were asked to pose with a tourist for a picture.  

It was a long day for as we walked 10 miles through the city but stopping for tapa's in the Santa Cruz was an excellent end to our day. 

 

Peaceful Easy Feeling (DAR)

We glided up the highway from Seville to Madrid, the city from which we depart and thus bring conclusion to this adventure.  The road was smooth and free of traffic.  The morning weather was perfect.  The family was quietly relaxing.  Glenda, our mostly-trusty GPS, had us on a long and straight course and I began to reminisce within my own mind.

I don’t know what it is about music but it does a grand job of evoking emotion.  Bly was playing my favorites and before I knew it I was the tearful father hiding the moist eyes behind the stage of a supposedly attentive driver.

Marathon runners are special and admirable people.  They conquer what most people only dream, and from what I am told, become emotional at the end of their accomplishment—especially their first. 

Well, this day, I felt like a marathon runner.   A peaceful, easy feeling came over me as this journey nears its end.  A feeling of accomplishment.  A feeling of doing something special and worthwhile.  A feeling of investing into something that will pay dividends for a lifetime.  A feeling that my family will be better off because of it. 

The first musical selection was the same song that was performed at my grandmother Dodie’s graveside service.  My thoughts wandered about how wonderful, but scary, she would think our adventure would be.  I thought of how I would shop the crystal stores in my previous trips to Europe decades ago to find her those perfect figurines.  Then, I thought of how she must have terribly missed my mom when she went to Europe—not for 3 months but for 3 years at the tender age of 18.

The hardest part of being gone anywhere is missing the family and friends we love, and that’s why we live where we do. 

The next two musical selections were from our early days together and from our wedding.  My thoughts went to those that supported us more than 15 years ago and those that continue today.  I also thought of the things that couples dream of doing together.  Bly and I dreamed of healthy children, a big house where we all could live, and seeing worldly places which three months ago seemed only a dream as they were so far away.

Without action, dreams are only dreams.  Make a Bucket List and use check marks—but be sure to keep adding to the list so it doesn’t reach zero.

During the Madrid drive I also pondered how my brother must feel with the announcement of the first family wedding—his daughter, Katie, the first of all of the cousins/grandkids.  I knew in his eyes she was 13 years old just yesterday.  I also recalled Mitch’s daughter at age 13 and then bam, she graduated from college and then married.

Bly and I are blessed with three girls of ages 10, 13, and 13—all of whom will be married tomorrow, or so it may eventually seem.

The girls’ ages now combined with numerous other factors made for very good timing of this adventure.  Bly and I gave this trip the importance of a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity.  We knew however that one goal was to instill the notion into our children’s ambitions that anything is possible and that if you accomplish something once it is easier to realize again.

Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and as the drive to Madrid continues, I know I have far more to be thankful for than deserved.  God has blessed the United States like no other nation on this Earth and my family is fortunate enough to share that blessing.  It only takes an occasional trip abroad to further one’s appreciation of the many things taken for granted at home. 

Traveling for an extended time has also made me thankful for something that probably would never have come to light—something that not all families have, not even at home in the little town of Beatrice.  Our three month adventure has been a fantastic experience.  It has not been a vacation filled with fancy hotel reservations and lobby restaurants, however almost all of our lodging arrangements have been wonderful.  It was the very few times when a roof over our heads was in doubt that really make us as parents realize the importance of a reliable and constant home.  The next meal was also coincidentally at risk during these same few times, after all there isn’t a chain restaurant or supermarket on every block, or for that matter in every neighborhood, or even in every sector of town.

The valuable part of this enlightening adventure was when we realized the necessity of stable lodging and the ability to keep a family fed.  We now have some slight insight that if a child does not have a place to call home and does not know from where their next meal will come, nothing else really matters to them—they cannot concentrate and they cannot learn.  Our measly few temporary situations pale in comparison to some struggling families.  For continuous shelter and plenty of food at a place in Beatrice we call home, we are grateful.  

We are also thankful for the people that have enabled us to do this trip.  Your support prior to our departure and then continuing during the last three months has been amazing.  A huge thank you to our family, friends, work associates, and those we have not even met yet who have supported us, followed us, and communicated with us.  Happy Thanksgiving!