Rome, part 2
The afternoon languishes in a puddle of heat. We’ve all stripped down to our underwear and lay sprawled across the couch, the sofa bed, the upstairs beds with as little movement as possible. By 6:00, Dan and I are impatient to explore more, and the boys need feeding. We debate: Do we keep it simple…
Rome, part 1
Morcheeba’s “Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day” fills the car as we approach the city. The boys’ education is one of travel and music. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, aristocratic young men from northern Europe undertook a Grand Tour, completing their education with a journey through France and Italy. My family is doing something…
Pause in the Apennines
This is what I’ve been waiting for. This: We’re tucked away in the Umbrian hills, somewhere near the village of San Venanzo. Two hours behind us is the pulsing buzz of Rome with its mopeds and taxis competing with pedestrians for command of the uneven roads and crosswalks. Yesterday afternoon, we melted in the city’s…
A Glimpse of Umbria
Mornings are spent with coffee, a book, and then time to write, always with a view over the hills that undulate beyond, like the curved backs of slumbering dragons. Lunch is a taste of Italy: oil and vinegar with bread and a plate of green olives, tomatoes, and cheese, eaten around the sun-bleached wooden table…
Bergen-Belsen: Lessons from History
At bedtime, I asked Camden what the best part of this weekend was. He replied, “Going to Frankfurt,” but we didn’t go to Frankfurt. When I pointed that out, Cam revised his answer to “the place where people died.” I asked him what he liked about it, and he replied, “Everything.” We’ve explored all four…
Boxing Day
Oststadt is tree-lined streets with corner kiosks where regulars meet to smoke and share a beer. It’s brass Stolpersteine dotted throughout the neighbourhood’s pavements, small plaques that serve as a reminder of too many former residents persecuted or murdered 80 years ago. It’s playgrounds tucked between ornate historic townhouses and neighbours who help scoop inches…
Hannoversary
Today marks one year since Hannover became home. My Hannoversary. Beyond its borders, Germany is perhaps best known for its penchant for order and its dark 20th century history. As an outsider coming in, I’ve come to know Germany for something more: a place that champions the common good. My family’s first days in Hannover…
Change is in the Air
My Cups of Tee has lain dormant for two years. I’ve thought about writing a lot – a lot in terms of the number of times I consider the act and the quantity I hope to create. I sometimes approach writing as I do a mountain of laundry to fold or a week’s worth of lessons to plan: I procrastinate about it…
When Reality Hits Close to Home
I take comfort in connecting to the bigger world when my smaller one feels like it’s closing in. Coffee shops, walks through the neighborhood, and the liveliness of a day at school all do this for me. These surroundings bring me solace.I adjusted to parenthood in Seattle with walks – often to coffee shops. It…
The Books That Become Us
Some of the memories I have of second grade are visual – clear images that play in my mind, either as frozen snapshots or short movies: circling the room on the first day, searching for my nameplate in a sea of unfamiliar names; walking home from school, followed by a boy who did a poor…
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To Palimpsest 