‘Tis a gift to be simple

Sometimes the things I learn aren’t at all what I was expecting. Such is the case with this 6 month home exchange. Sure, I thought I’d learn a bit about myself but never realized how much I would want to change once we got home. It started in Norway, where life was much slower and simpler, and I had to re-learn my love for cooking. I didn’t have a choice – there were only a few restaurants and we couldn’t afford to go to them, anyway. I made tons of soups, stews, and started baking desserts almost every night. Did I mention I love to eat? I also realized how much I enjoy being outdoors, and that I want my exercise the old fashioned way – from fun. I just don’t like working out, but I will hike for hours and be very happy.

In Holland I discovered my love for biking, and getting my bike up to Dutch standards is first on my list for when we return. No more driving the car to the grocery store that’s a mile away – how ridiculous. Here in Sweden I reconnected with my old friend LisafromAfrica who confirmed everything I’d been thinking. Yes, we can bake our own bread (she does) and sure, it’s easy to grow herbs and vegetables in our own garden (well, they have a gardener, so I took this one with a grain of salt). We should teach our kids to use what we have, not what we would like to have – for us this means joining a CSA and getting locally grown, seasonal produce. I’m done with my fancy, huge, difficult-to-clean toaster oven, and am replacing it with a sturdy toaster that fits bagels for Jon.  I’d even been too busy to read to my kids (I know, this one is bad), and I recently dove back in thanks to Kindle books on Jon’s iPod. Surprisingly, I really miss yoga, so that is also going to be a priority for me, too. This has definitely been an inspiring trip. There is no time like now to live in the present.