Quick Fun....
....We have a new category in our monthly budget. It is called the "Oh dear, what has he done now blooper bucks; relearning to drive in a foreign country". Sigh. My poor hubby. I just giggle (or laugh straight at him) with each new occurrence. Since entering our new land of living........in sequence.....
*Day 5........accidentally backs into a car while doing a quick reverse to avoid busy street traffic. *bumper of the victim car goes down: $120.....thank goodness the guy didn't call for a police
report!
*Day 74........parks car in a downtown parking space and buys a proper parking ticket.
Who WOULD have known you HAD to park the stinkin' car in BACKWARDS! There was a sign for that??? Oops...... t-i-c-k-e-t .....Down 30 Euros.
*Day 75.....arriving in the dark to parent's house, he unloads car in complete darkness and discovers in the morning light that the minivan sliding door was left open ALL NIGHT LONG. Stray cats everywhere! A lucky strike they did not discover a comfy new "hotel" for the night.
*Day 76......our dual tank van needs a refill of natural gas. Insert gas, fight off the 30 mph winds and retreat to car. Proceed in responding to 4 year olds question of why and how our van runs off of both gasoline and natural gas........He is totally the teaching type and can devotedly enlighten the spongey mind of our 2nd child........AND drive off without detaching the gas hose. Oops..........total responsibility........never mind that they have security cameras all around......my guy has virtue that runs sky high.........Down $70 for broken parts.
Ahh, whilst he is busy giving our money away for his bloopers, I am busy smashing up the car as I am learning how to squeeze in and out of pretty tight spaces. A scrape and dent here, a door smacked into a cement planter there.......the occasional bumping of side mirrors.......or hitting a curb while taking a tight corner.......
We have determined that we are, "Just not ready to commit to any sort of upgrade."
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We have had several fun outings this past month. I just want to say, it is a CHALLENGE to do most things with 3 kids! Every trip to the park, every attempted walk thru the forest, every ferry ride to the Spit, every trip to the grocery store, every walk downtown to the pastry shop is, at some point, interrupted with the wailing, cringing sound of a child crying or complaining.
Case Point
I know it's the age of the kids. Bless their hearts. But, for every finger I want to point at them for misbehaving, there is one pointing straight back at me for a lack of patience, lack of gentleness, lack of kindness. I'm going thru some trials here. Things are not rosy-red and my spirits are downcast. You know, it is quite simple to perceive going thru trials, adjustments, severe changes, but then actually going thru them can really bite. If you are willing to pray for my spirits to be lifted, I would greatly appreciate it. God help me in my quest to be a mother that my kids deserve. I am massively in love with my kids, even though life gets drained out of me by the monotony of serving them endless meals they fuss over, tending to their hygiene, warding off their boredom or excessive amounts of excitement, wondering if today I have contributed to any part of their future success, or failures. I do it for LOVE, the foundation of security that they will build their adult lives from. But, Oh Lord, every night I pray that I will wake up the next morning and be a mother that they deserve, yes DESERVE to have caring for and loving them. What a privilege it is to be their source of EVERYTHING, for a small time, even though it seems endless.
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Part of the "shattered dream" of coming to Lithuania and embracing the reality is that my husband traded one very demanding job for another very demanding job. The work is good, worthwhile, and he is pouring his heart and soul into it. Of course he is, he doesn't know how to work any other way. He is carrying it well, he always does. It's a greater struggle for me to accept it, as most days (because it follows him home) work is more like a 13 hour a day occurance. It has become glaringly clear in the past 2 years that we are just in that life stage where home life (young kids) and growing career are at the heights of their demands. They each require dedicated attention, meticulous devotion.
Balance.
Balance is the goal for the non-harmonious relationship between family and work. Rarely achieved, but always desired.********************************************************************************
Now, a classic topic of conversation - weather. The weather here is quite interesting. Winter came and went in a mild fashion, and we enjoyed it very much. However, the induction of spring is a bit challenging (ahem....we come from the deep, wide, blue skies of Texas). Here, we experience days and days of cloudy skies. Every few days the clouds will part, often times at 6:30 in the evening, shower us with glorious sunlight, and then it either gets dark (nightfall) or cloudy again. Fog rolls in and out, sometimes lingering until the late afternoon, sometimes rolling in late afternoon. Here, summer is the glory. Two anticipated months of glory.....July and August.
Living Lithuania Outloud,
April
