- Picnic with Biljana, Djeno, Nina,Slobodan, and all our kids
- Bike ride through town on the back of Jelle’s bike, feeling like the queen of the world.
- Getting beds ready for Bart and Thamar and their five kids, who will visit us soon!
- Celebrating Femke’s 13th birthday
- Meeting with Mieneke, celebrating our friendship for nearly two decades. That is precious.
- A day of rest picking flowers in the fields with my friends and girls. Joy!
- Meeting our friends in our home, being spoiled by them and Dutch treats
- Walking around town and showing our friends Osijek
- Men have their meetings; women have their teas and talks. A wonderful meal at sunset with Jan en Jantien.
- Pottery workshop—joy for all ages.
- Friends heading home; laundry day
- Walk with our half-lame dog—still fun; processing this half, yet full, month.
- Day of rest
- Bringing Jelle to the train in Pecs, enjoying the new station with an old-fashioned style
- Picking up the bits and pieces from the lid of the 17-year-old teapot (I’m glad that it was me that broke it and not one of the kids. I still keep saying, “Watch the lid!”
- Ordering local food for the silence and writing retreat
- Preparing chapel moments for the retreat
- Lunch with Laura at the playground, watching the kids play.
- Getting Jelle back from England; joy in reunion; a race with Laurens for who would give the first kiss (he won!)
- Receiving the news that my brother and his wife had their seventh girl (Yes—1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7!)
- Baby shower for a friend—lovely folks and food; also, Pentecost
- A doctor’s visit for Laurens.
- Posting a blog: Just a bit of mothering, hang in there, to encourage others and, not least, myself 😉
- Watching a movie with our daughters: Testament of Youth; all crying
- Final packing for the silence and writing retreat.
- Skipping half a night’s sleep but meeting up with dear friends.
27. Silence and writing, Day 1.
28. Silence and writing, Day 2.
29. Wrapping up, driving home, feeling blessed to give and receive.
30. Laundry and rest, coffee with Jelle along the Drava river
31. Picking strawberries with a friend, processing this full month, and posting this blog. Enjoy!
(In a way, it’s fun, this kind of blog. And yet… there is so much not said: the pain of endless goodbyes; the heart-to-heart conversations in between; the sleepless nights; the worries and fears and joys. Well… the careful reader might read that between the lines.)
And do you ask: My, how do you remember this all? Here, you can find the answer;-)
Warm greetings,
Janneke