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Blessings and Bugs

11/27/2016

As our apartment finally settles for the night, the only sounds to be heard six levels above the streets of Sarriá are occasional cars passing, mattresses creaking a little as my children toss and turn (getting comfortable for - we hope! - a good sleep) and the clothes dryer cycling through another load of towels. The scent of warm apples, cinnamon and pumpkin emanates from the kitchen and lingers in the main rooms.

I've just settled into my comfortable writing chair, the one with the good light overhead. Rain is slightly expected to fall again tonight, and as it often does here in Barcelona it might perhaps be a hard rain that completely vanishes by morning. Humidity stands at 79%. Our two plants, tropical and leafy little trees, seem to have noticed the change in humidity. They are quite perky!

This is a good night, and I am happy with it. My sons and I spent the evening cooking, baking and talking together.

"You are my two favorite sons," I nodded sagely with a twinkle in my eye.

"Mom, we are your ONLY sons!" reminded Soccer Dude.

"What a coincidence! You are my two favorite sons AND my only sons! That makes me a lucky mom!"

Both boys grinned and then went back to mixing their desserts.

"Thank you," added Soccer Dude. It took him a full thirty seconds to recover from contemplating that sincere exchange before he launched into another potty-humor filled joke... his current specialty.

All of this makes a nice contrast with the rest of our unexpectedly long weekend which ultimately extended into four days of the stomach flu.

With their dad out of town for another week, the kids and I'd had big plans for this weekend. We'd started it with dinner out at the cheap (delicious) local Chinese restaurant and two soccer games. Next up were a shopping expedition, visiting a local Christmas market, and creating our own small Thanksgiving dinner.

When their bus dropped them off at the stop on Friday night at 5:45, the four of us walked briskly for over a mile to get to Soccer Dude's fútbol game against another local private school, La Salle. It was already dark outside and the kids lugged their backpacks on trolleys while I carried their snacks, jackets, and sports bags under each arm.

We marveled at the beautiful twinkling lights in store windows as we walked. The holiday season has begun here in Spain, and the city feels magical and bright with Christmas decorations in store windows and fresh pine trees for sale, waiting to be carried home and illuminated.

At last we arrived at the La Salle campus. Our jaws dropped open.
"Kids, we found Hogwarts!" I exclaimed in admiration.

Woah! We walked through the arched security gates and swiftly realized that this is more than a school... it is an entire academic complex looking more like a small liberal arts college than a standard 'colegio'. La Salle is truly one of the most impressive, beautiful campuses for children I've ever seen... and at night with the moon illuminating it from behind, it looked other-worldly.

There's something about a nighttime game that feels a little more special and unusual than your typical Saturday morning soccer game.

As it turns out, the La Salle students are fierce and disciplined competitors on the fútbol field - they must have an outstanding coach. The game was a rout (we barely made it onto the scoreboard) and it was quite cold outside (we could see our breath) but I loved watching every second. Soccer Dude played well and the hour passed by swiftly.

After the game we walked the mile home happily, eager for Chinese food and to unwind. "Mama, look!" sang out Little Angel in awe. "They've turned on the Christmas lights!"

I looked up to see that at last our neighborhood of Sarriá had illuminated all of the lights we've seen men hanging over the city streets for the last month. For a moment the sight took my breath away and I had no words.

"It's so beautiful!" Little Angel grasped my hand. "I love this! Can we see all of the lights?"

We walked home a little more slowly, taking it all in. Block after block, every street was illuminated.

My heart filled with what I can only call gratitude and even childlike wonder as I examined the snowflakes and colors connecting the ancient buildings.

"When is the last time I mentioned how much I love living here?" I asked the kids. "THIS. IS. BEYOND. AMAZING."

The next morning we bundled up warmly and made the lengthy trek out to The Scientist's soccer game held at a camp on the outskirts of the city far from our apartment. With Señor Aventura in the United States, we couldn't drive the car... so we ended up figuring out a combination of taxi and subway to get there.

"Thanks for doing this, Mom," The Scientist exclaimed when we finally arrived.

We watched as he ran eagerly to kick the ball around with his teammates who called out to him warmly in greeting.

Catalan Soccer Mom

"What a difference a month makes," I thought, remembering how hard it had been for The Scientist to make friends with the kids on his soccer team at first.

The language barrier had seemed insurmountable to him. Then one day, he'd come home and announced that the kids were all letting him play now at recess. He'd made a friend who unlocked all of those closed social doors, and suddenly The Scientist was accepted.

The fact that he's a strong soccer player doesn't hurt either! This game was a big success, and The Scientist's team won. As the other boys left in cars with their parents, all of them called out to The Scientist from passenger windows. "Adios!" they called to him. "Hasta luego!" "Hasta Lunes!" Their parents smiled and waved to me.

"We are making inroads!" I grinned before turning back to Google Maps on my phone to figure out how to walk back to the subway station.

Clearly our weekend was off to a great start and, though we were a bit weary, our spirits were high.

Then came lunch. Quiche, as it happened, from my favorite bakery. It was decadent, I must admit - creamy, cheesy, full of bacon. "Wow mom, I really love this!" exclaimed Little Angel.

"Yeah, it's great!" agreed The Scientist."

"I'll pass," said Soccer Dude. "You know I don't eat cheese."

"Your loss," we smiled and enjoyed every last bite.

It turned out though that Soccer Dude was actually winning. A few hours later, after we'd done a bit of Black Friday weekend shopping and taken in more beautiful holiday lights, Little Angel turned to me.

"Mom, my stomach really hurts."

"When's the last time you ate something sweetie?"

"Not since lunch."

"Oh, well - you're probably hungry! Let's head home and we can make dinner."

An hour later though, while I was cooking dinner, Little Angel came to me with a funny look on her face. "Mommy? I don't feel right."

"What doesn't feel right honey?"

Poor Little Angel

She opened up her mouth to explain but suddenly our sweet little girl began to throw up. All of lunch, all of her breakfast. All over the rug. Once she'd started, it seemed that she couldn't stop vomiting. As hours passed her extremely upset stomach turned into a fever and exhaustion.

Poor little thing! By the middle of the night I reached out wearily to our friend in California who is both a doctor and a fantastic mother. "My husband is 6,000 miles away. I'm here with nobody to help watch the kids, no way to drive the car, and no Pedialyte. No pharmacies are open. I can't get in touch with the pediatrician. Every time I try to give her water, she throws it up. All of the stores here are closed on Sunday. What can I do?"

My amazing friend was back to me with an answer in what felt like moments. "Here is the formulation for a rehydration mix you can put together at home. Just give her a sip at a time every five minutes." She'd even converted everything into milliliters for me, since that is how things are measured in Europe. She also asked lots of thoughtful questions and made me feel calm. "Stay strong," she told me.

By 3AM Little Angel began to hold down fluids. She spent the next day feverish but stable.

Kids have an amazing way of drawing you back to remember what actually matters in life. Christmas shopping, cleaning the house, doing the laundry, taking classes, exercising, spending time with friends, writing, missing my husband... all of these things felt important until the second Little Angel fell ill and then suddenly I couldn't have cared less who came to the door while I was in my unwashed hair and pajamas. All that mattered was Little Angel getting well.

"Mama, I don't like this," she confided as I tucked her into bed.

"You'll be fine," I encouraged her with a calm smile. "This is normal. It happens."

"I hate throwing up, mama. It is the worst!" she told me.

"I completely agree. The absolute worst!" I nodded.

"Thank you for taking care of me," she wrapped her warm little arms around my shoulders.

"There is nothing in the world I would rather do," I told her. "Nowhere I would rather be."

In the end, all four of us were struck in succession by the fierce Barcelonan stomach bug. It hit each of us hard and fast, one person per day, following a pattern of brutal and sudden takedown and 24 hours of misery (each) followed by a relatively quick recovery. Although we're not all quite out of the woods, I expect the full process of family recovery will be complete about four full days after it all started.

The Scientist Is Growing Up

The Scientist has been a true hero, caring for me and his little siblings for the twelve hours when was I resting my own head against the toilet and could not stand. I've seen so much growth in him during our nearly five months abroad. This was perhaps the clearest signal yet that our eldest son is on the cusp of becoming a young adult.

When things got really tough and vomit-riddled, he stepped up in a big way. I have never been more proud of my eleven year old son than I was when he decided to take care of us without being asked. He checked on me hourly, brought me Powerade and bananas to rehydrate from the fever, cooked his brother and sister dinner and put them to bed before tucking himself in too.

"Do you need anything, Mom?" he asked. "I'm right here down the hall. Just call if you need me."

Today there was a moment when all four of us were sitting together in the sunny living room, laughing about how awful and gross the whole thing has been. "Dad got lucky," said The Scientist. "He missed it!"

"By the time he gets back on Saturday, all of us will be healthy," I agreed.

"Dad would SO be throwing up right now if he were here!" grinned Soccer Dude with a twinkle.

"I like it when we are all here together," Little Angel hugged me. "We are a family."

I hugged her back and looked around the room at the faces of the Aventura children. Certainly paler than normal with dark shadows under their eyes, but still full of life and spirit... everyone grinning.

Suddenly our long weekend of blessings and bugs felt magical again.

Get Well Origami Gift From Soccer Dude

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Thankful

11/21/2016

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Praying at Montserrat.

No question, it has been a turbulent couple of weeks in the United States. Here in Spain I've felt at times like a satellite watching my mother ship struggle through rocky waves.

A friend in California posted a video this morning about a woman who took 365 photos to remind herself of the little things for which she is grateful every day. I love this! What could be a more perfect time of year to give thanks than the week of Thanksgiving?

Here are some of the blessings I'm counting this year.

As different as we are, together we combine to make a beautiful family.

Big, Beautiful Family. During this strained time in America I am grateful that our huge extended family of 40+ people can hold profoundly different opinions and beliefs from each other, but still also be a strong collective deeply grounded in love.

Together we are a diverse crew comprised of almost every walk of American life. We are actors and doctors, teachers and investment planners. Dancers and insurance brokers. Nurses and professors. We are Christians, Mormons and Jews, straight and gay. A healthy mix of moderate, conservative, progressive and liberal. We're descendants of soldiers in the U.S. Revolutionary war and immigrants from Eastern Europe. We are Portuguese, Mexican, Russian, Polish, British, Scottish, German, French, Canadian, American-Indian and much more... a little bit of almost everything in our special blend. We are what makes the gorgeous textured fabric of America!

I would do anything for our relatives and I truly believe that they would do anything for my husband & me... and especially for our kids! I'm grateful that family love is stronger than politics!

This kid is good at being direct.

Straight Talk. I'm grateful for the people that will tell me straight up when I'm wrong, or if they disagree with me and/or the way I am saying or doing something.

Living in an echo chamber isn't going to help me become a better mother, daughter, friend, wife, teacher, writer or human.

Thank you to everyone who gently tells me truths I don't know (or that might be hard to hear).

A best friend is the one who will confidently confide that you've got toilet paper stuck to your shoe as you walk through the five star restaurant. I'm SO thankful for my best friends who love me enough to call me on my bullshit, and then laugh with me about it! Speaking of which...

Thrilled when they get a letter or email from home!

Friends Without Borders. They say you find out who your real friends are when you can go a year without talking and pick back up right where you left off. That may well be true but it's obviously nicer to go a year and keep talking!

I'm incredibly grateful for the many friends who have continued to keep up with us via email, WhatsApp, Facebook, texts and letters while we are far away from home. There is no substitute for hearing your voices, so thank heavens for Google Hangouts and WhatsApp free calls! I'm also so touched by the fact that my children's best friends from home continue to call and write them every week, and some are possibly even coming to visit! Staying connected means the world to us. Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The talented hands of my amazing friend Viva, who has helped us in countless ways since we arrived!

Outstretched Hands. I was flat-out terrified to move to a foreign country where I knew almost nobody, nor the language. Now that we've lived in Barcelona for four months, it's hard to believe I will ever leave this place. So many amazing people have reached out to our family to help us get settled in Spain, from old friends to incredible new friends to neighbors to school representatives to AirBNB hosts & many more. Just like a rock concert when someone dives in the crowd, there was a real chance that nobody would reach out to catch us when we jumped. Yet from the first moment here, everybody has had their hands up to keep us in the air and now we are sailing forward.

My luminous mother.

My mother. I'm grateful for my beautiful and gracious mother, Abuela Luminosa, who just flew halfway across the planet by herself on four airplanes to see us, even though she speaks almost no Spanish!

During the two lovely weeks she was here, she devoted countless hours to helping my children with their homework, watching their soccer games from hard cement bleachers, taking us out for delicious meals, helping me to digest the US presidential election, and lavishing all of us with her love and gentle wisdom. She and I talked and talked, whole days flew by unnoticed.

My mother is one of the kindest and most patient people on the planet, and I am so proud to be her daughter. More photos from her fun visit at the end of this blog!

Aventura Children. Yes, they are loud and messy. Yes, I do have to apologize to the downstairs neighbors when they tell me my children sound like a stampede of trampling horses upstairs all day long. Yes, parenting is exhausting and sometimes tough.

YET. The three little humans I was lucky and blessed to bring into this world inspire me beyond words.

They are developing their own interests, personalities, perspectives and hobbies. The Scientist consumes 400 page novels in a day and shows signs of a passionate interest in economics, while Soccer Dude blows me away with a masterful command of beginning Spanish and Chinese... not to mention his wickedly silly sense of humor!

Little Angel just devoted a full week to a Halloween Candy science project about gummy bears wherein she used the Scientific Method, creating her own hypothesis about what happens when gummy bears sit in liquid for a long time and then testing it day after day. She is a meticulous, enthusiastic learner.

I could go on for days. In love with these kids! They are the best thing ever.

I feel like Indiana Jones in this place!

Adventure! Looking ahead to December I am sooooo excited that we are headed to six different European cities to celebrate the holidays! My mom was just telling my kids this weekend how much I loved to travel as a kid, and it looks like some things haven't changed! Blessed beyond measure to have the ability to keep traveling.

Between now and January 1 we will be spending time as a family in Valencia, Granada, Sevilla, Madrid, Amsterdam and Paris! I can't wait to get bundled up in warm winter clothes and watch my kids ice skate on a canal, visit a Christmas market, and watch the Eiffel Tower illuminate at midnight on December 31st. I know there will be plenty of icy weather, tired children, long whining hours in the car and maybe even tears along the way... but there is nothing I relish more than a life of adventure with the people I love. Can't wait!

Health :) Only a few people know I started my summer vacation with unexplained bleeding in my lower digestive tract and underwent a full endoscopy and colonoscopy one week after arriving in Barcelona. (You know, your typical way to move to a new country! LOL.) Everyone told me that the "clean out" prep for the colonoscopy would be the worst part, but I surprised myself by finding it hilarious and laughing non-stop for that entire sleepless night.

Gracias a Dios the colonoscopy was clean! I have to take iron and watch what I eat due to gastritis but for now my life clock is still ticking along peacefully. Health is the biggest gift in the world, and I am so grateful for having more time.

Hopefully a lot of it!

This guy.

Love. My husband is 6,000 miles and a nine hour time difference away from us for three weeks. This isn't the first time we've been apart and it won't be the last... but whenever he is gone I am constantly reminded of the many little things he does for us every day when he is here. Things that are easy to take for granted... like holding my hand while we watch a TV show, telling our kids to believe in themselves (and that he believes in them), driving us to the grocery store so we don't have to walk in the rain, cooking us a meal or mopping the kitchen floor. We married twelve years ago this week (nearly 15 years since we met!) and beyond the big things like passion and trust, for which I am still so grateful, it turns out there are all of these little things that also make love strong.

I'm grateful that Señor Aventura still dances with me when nobody is looking; still makes me his signature guacamole with a truckload of cilantro and a twinkle in his eye. Still makes my heart skip a beat when I see him from across the room.

Thankful that as an American nobody can tell me how to pray, who to marry, or what to write.

Freedom. I'm so thankful for the right to be myself, and to speak my views freely and openly without fear. I'm truly glad you have that right too... even if sometimes we may genuinely disagree!

I'm thankful for you too! Happy Thanksgiving!!!

And now.... more photos from Abuela Luminosa's fabulous two week visit!
We are missing her already.

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Bona Castanyada & Happy Halloween!

11/1/2016

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Our little Bruja con Araña :)

This was the first long holiday weekend of the Catalan school year, or as they call it here, a 'puente'. Since Dia de Todos los Santos (All Saint's Day) fell on a Tuesday, the schools and much of the country of Spain took Monday off too (Halloween) to create a four-day vacation.

Halloween is relatively new to Spain, and friends here tell us that it has only really been enjoyed with costumes and trick-or-treating for about ten years or so. What the locals DO celebrate though, and have always honored here in Catalunya, is "La Castanyada".

La Castanyada is a special day where the people of Catalunya celebrate by eating roasted chestnuts and pine nuts, along with special cookies, and drinking moscatell. This is a special tradition. Historically, bell ringers would stay up all night on the eve of All Saint's Day ringing the bells until morning to remember the souls of those who had passed away.

The family and friends of these bell ringers would stay up with them, and everyone would eat and drink throughout the night to stay awake and energized. That is how the tradition began and it continues even today! (We've been sampling pine nut cookies for a few weeks now... and on Friday, Señor Aventura brought home a bottle of moscatell. It looks like a very fancy wine bottle covered with embossed golden leaves, and while I haven't tasted it yet, he assures me it tastes like an almond dessert wine.)

Special seasonal cookies made with pine nuts for La Castanyada (from my favorite bakery)!

Around the time of La Castanyada, street merchants pop up selling roasted chestnuts and roasted sweet potatoes on street corners... and mushroom hunting is an extremely popular Catalan pastime on weekends during this time of year!

Locals here definitely celebrate this fun gourmet holiday and at our kids' school there was a fun outdoor carnival on Friday afternoon complete with games made out of raw chestnuts that the students had painted silver and gold.

Most families we know left town for at least a few of the four days off, and we'd planned to head south ourselves... but last week, Señor Aventura and I managed to catch some kind of sneezing virus and didn't really feel up to a big road trip... so in the end, we decided to relax at home and take day-trips instead.

We drove to two of the loveliest places you could ever hope to see... both just a short jaunt from Barcelona. I'll let the photos do the talking here... they're far more worthy than words could be. On Sunday we drove to Montserrat, and later on Monday we hiked in the forest at Montseny.

Montserrat is home to an ancient Benedictine monastery. It is one of the most sacred, spiritual places in all of Catalunya - and the views are breathtaking! Here are photos of our hike (and lunch) in this incredible location.

Arriving for our hike, full of smiles!

We'll be taking our California visitors to this incredible place for certain!

On Monday, we drove in a different direction to see the colorful autumn leaves in the Natural Park of Montseny. None of us could remember seeing such a sea of red, yellow and orange leaves before. What a treat for Southern Californians!

Mi familia Aventura

Boy conquers mountain!

We hiked for a few hours and then returned to enjoy the most exquisite lunch at a local Can Restaurante at the foot of the trail. The restaurants were packed and we needed a reservation, even though it was for the second seating! Worth every bit of the wait... best descriptors for lunch: savory, mouth-watering, juicy, tangy, delicious! Señor Aventura ordered bacalao with Judia beans in alioli sauce and I had a chicken with prunes, raisins and pine nuts that just about made me weep with its sauce. AH-mazing.

Seriously, I could eat this every day. Chicken with prunes, raisins and pine nuts!

My favorite moment of the entire day occurred spontaneously on our way back down the mountain trail to the restaurant... when we randomly came upon a shepherd herding a huge flock of sheep and goats through a meadow! The forest was so quiet around us and all you could hear were the tinkling bells around their necks. It felt like we'd walked straight into the heart of "The Sound of Music" - I half expected Julie Andrews to pop out from behind a tree at any moment singing "The Hills Are Alive"!

Wrapping up a beyond-beautiful day.

All in all, despite the lingering head cold it was a pretty spectacular weekend.
Just when I thought I couldn't possibly love Spain more... I do!

Wishing everyone at home and around the world a Happy Halloween! :)

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