Spring Turkey

Oh my gosh (with great emphasis) is the weather nice here!Now I remember why people love Turkey and think that it is a great place to visit! A few weeks ago I was asking myself why anyone would choose to live in Istanbul. Well, the reasons have arrived along with the Spring. The air is clear. The clouds are floating briskly through that blue, not grey, backdrop that is sky. The greenery is bright and has recently been joined by millions of beautiful yellow weeds I like to call flowers.

Despite my strongest efforts, I will never be a city girl. Mr. Right is not a country boy and since he brings home the bread I will follow him to whatever city he chooses. I long to quote Tom Cruise in Far and Away when he says ". . . potatoes. Yes, potatoes. And wheat. . . yes wheat, far as the eye can see. . ." But I fear, not too sorrowfully, that I will instead be forced to say "apartment buildings as far as the eye can see, and beyond" of my future homes, however many they may be.

For now, this weather is really boosting my mood. We're out of the house more often. The kids are outside with the other neighborhood urchins. Today Cinci had fun offering flowers to the local cats and rummaging through the soil for rocks. Can you imagine raising a child and them never having the opportunity to sit in dirt and toss rocks around? As Cinci was plopped on the ground, surrounded by his rocks today the gardener in his orange jacket walked up behind us with a puzzled look on his face. A really puzzled look. A look that said,

"Are you okay? Do you need some help there with your child?"

Of course, at first I thought maybe our gardener was mad because Cinci was sitting on his garden, but I surveyed the area and didn't find any flowers or plants of great import. Then I realized that he was Turkish. And all Turkish people are clean. Spic and span. That means none of their kids will ever be found playing in dirt.

So I managed a silent response. A big smile that said,

"Gosh, isn't this world beautiful? Oh, hello. How are you?" completely ignoring the fact that Cinci was sitting on the dirt playing with rocks.