When The Mayor began the conversation, the topic was digital balance. I have to say that when I hear the word balance, I do not immediately think only about a cell phone, a computer, the internet, or social media. I think first about emotional balance. Maybe this is because I am not exactly a calm…
It started very simple. The Mayor was hungry. This is not a small sentence. When The Mayor is hungry, the whole meeting can change direction. We were maybe talking about something else before, I don’t know anymore, but suddenly he said he was hungry, and I said, “Yes, you must eat chicken.” This is my…
When you grow up in Australia, you learn at an early age that the rest of the world thinks you are upside down. Maps do not help. Most maps place Europe somewhere near the middle and Australia somewhere near the bottom, as if it were an afterthought attached to the edge of the planet. Seasons…
I arrived a little bit late for our meeting, and I was like, sorry, because I was with my friends and I absolutely forgot the time. Fruitloop said it was okay because she used the time to give cooking instructions to her husband. So really, I was late, but also I helped the dinner situation,…
Some weeks seem determined to test your patience, and this one certainly qualified. The summer heat arrived with full force, turning everyday life into an endurance challenge. By Thursday, I could honestly say that I had very little energy left. It wasn’t just work or family or the weather—it was everything together. Even sitting in…
We arrived at the table already halfway into the weather report, which is often how Lunch begins: not with a formal opening, but with someone worrying about someone else’s temperature. Rosii was worried about the Mayor, and fairly so. While Brazil was sitting at a dramatic 10 degrees, the Mayor announced that his corner of…
We were live again. Peeling Potatoes number 53, although The Mayor said he was starting to lose count. He was not sure whether he could count beyond 54, so naturally I became the official maths department of his life. Possibly my son too, because apparently teaching The Mayor what comes after 54 would be a…
This month’s theme was Balance. A simple word until real life gets involved. Because balance rarely arrives as a perfect arrangement. Work does not stay neatly on one side. Rest does not always feel restful. Phones help us and interrupt us. Routines support us and sometimes trap us. Families, weather, friendship, travel, food, sport, imagination…
Next week in Brida, we begin a new rhythm. After a month of Balance, we move gently into Rest. Not the decorative kind of rest. Not the kind that appears in wellness quotes beside a candle and a cup of tea, although we are not against tea if tea is doing its job. This is…
This is one of my healthy breakfasts, but of course I cannot just put quark in a bowl and be finished. No, no. There must be a little experiment. The low-fat quark is good, the protein powder makes it stronger, the blueberries bring the sunshine, and the sparkling water makes it lighter, almost like the…
