Tuesday, March 6, 2018

He's like Donkey and Prince Charming

 This little stone mosaic is supposed to say Ellada, which is how you say Greece in Greek. There are lots of smooth stones at this particular beach. As I searched for white and pink stones and arranged them, I thought about how much time was put into the mosaics that you find in old churches and temples. My life is pretty basic right now. I don't have much that I have to do except feed my kids and teach them. I have no extracurricular activities to drive them to or school for me to attend. I don't go to a gym and I don't work outside the home. I can definitely see how people a long time ago could pour everything from inside them into a work of art. Something that would reflect their peaceful surroundings and express something meaningful in their lives. I really love art. I love making art, but I don't do it enough. I also don't produce the art I visualize in my head, which means I should be honing some sort of technique or skill. During this down time I've had here in Greece I should be doing that honing of skills. Shame on me. America, with its competition, its continual desire for growth and expansion, its speediness, will never let me sit quietly for long. Not like here. Here, when I wake up in the morning and look out the window, I have time to notice that the colors of the sea and the sky make a dark and light line and the water is still. By midday they blend together in a greyish, tan mushy color. By evening the waves are crashing and the sunlight gleams off each wave as it speeds toward shore and the colors of the sky turn warm. I don't know if I've ever watched the horizon of the Pacific all day long. Nope. I haven't. Atticus has honed his rock skipping skills. I didn't know you could skip rocks on the sea. I thought it had to be still water. "I skipped it 30 times" he said. "Well, it was actually just skimming across the top of the water for a long time," he rephrased it. I think his uncle Cameron might have a challenger about now. 

 
I made dinner with the leftover chicken broth and meat from the other night. Rice, broccoli, mushrooms, onions, and a few eggs. My version of fried rice minus the soy sauce. 12 days left until we get to America. Should I buy a bottle of soy sauce for just 12 days? No. We don't use it that often. Then I decided to go to the store because there was not a snack in the house but I didn't want to go alone at night. When Jonathan is out of the country I always get scared and never do anything that would separate me unnecessarily from my kids. I am my mother's daughter. Skilled worrier. Sherman was willing to accompany me to the store, a 20 minute walk from the house. He's a willing companion and enjoys being with people a lot. Jonathan and I wonder where he got that trait because neither of us really love being with people ALL the time. Sherman must be with someone. In fact, we watched Shrek 2 tonight and Atticus and I realized that Sherman acts exactly like Donkey: very loyal, slightly annoying at times and extremely comical to people watching from the outside. But, he looks like Prince Charming. 

As we scurried down the beach pathway in the dark, huddled over from the wind, we discussed the menu for the next day. We have to because we don't have any excess food in the house since we are moving again soon. We will be eating red lentil soup for lunch and baked potatoes with assorted toppings for dinner. Sherman is also very good at shopping. He also likes hugs and isn't afraid to hold my hand or smile or talk to me. He's very sweet even if he tries multiple times to interrupt my alone time at night. 


1 comment:

Kevin said...

As much as I enjoy reading about your adventures abroad it will be good to maybe see a little more of you and your family here in 'Merica.