The heat is on. For the fifth week in a row the temperature is way above 30C, take away a few cloudy, rainy days. I was away all July, enjoying the incredible climate of Madeira. But now I am right in the middle of yet another heatwave. This time at the lake.
The sun is going down. The huge red globe is slowly disappearing behind the mountain, till there is just a tiny bit of red showing… A small dot… Then nothing, all gone, the evening is here. Sitting on the terrace as I am writing this, surrounded by water. Tried to stick to our lake routine of dinner outside enjoying the view. But first, son is in the middle of watching yet another Harry Potter movie, second, beads of perspiration cover my forehead, trickling down my neck, back. It’s hot, I mean real hot! This is ridiculous, who am I kidding. Gathered up my stuff and came inside. Doors, windows closed, AC on. Doesn’t work that well, being a central one, going full blast in all the hotel rooms. Mish is not bothered by it at all, sitting in his winter flannel pyjama bottoms, asking if I could make him a cup of tea.
He is serious. In India people sip hot tea to cool themselves down. The theory behind is that sipping a hot drink causes you to sweat more, which will help you cool down your body. But only if this sweat has the chance of evaporating. Maybe my son knows something? But then again, he is not even sweating.
Should have stayed up in the mountains. Spent two whole days, long enough to unpack, do the laundry and discover that the weeds took over the garden. Managed to get rid of the them in the flowerbeds closest to the east side of the house, but with one hand it is a real slow process. Opening the tap, carrying the water hose, the baskets…after a couple of hours had to give up. My hand was throbbing again. If I keep using it, it will never heal.
Quick change of plan, relocated the next day to the lake. We spend so little time here anyway, even though it’s only 87 km far from us. Try to suppress the guilt I almost feel, and carry on vacationing. After all, we only have 2 weeks left before school begins.
Absolutely love waking up around 5 in the morning, seeing the lake, as it slowly awakens. The first rays of the sunshine firmly staying behind the thick drape of the black out curtains while I drift back to sleep. Later on hurrying down to reserve the sun beds at the best place -today I’ve missed it by about 30 seconds – sipping coffee on a bench and feeding the swans that come close to the shore. Spraying Nivea sun protection all over on our bodies, chasing son all the way to the pool. What does he care about the dangers of the UVA, UVB radiation? Fooling around in the cool water of the lake, throwing balls, or just spacing out, becoming one with water and the sky, floating, being weightless. I feel I can do anything, everything is possible, the sky is the limit.
I’ve got big plans, small ones, lots of them.
Smalls, like trying the vanilla ice cream with olives, have more “langos” – it is a typical Hungarian yeasty bread dough fried in oil, eaten plain or with sour cream and grated cheese -, fried fish called “hek”, taking a small boat around the lake, swinging, climbing, board games, simple things. Dodgem car rides in the evenings with lemon granita in hand – the best I’ve ever had – ( if you happen to be around Lake Velence, do come to the Corso and you will find it near the Plage) , the one where you feel the sour lemony taste even with the last sip. Air hockey games just before going up to sleep. Unfortunately not as many as we’d like. As soon as we start playing, kids start gathering around us. We seem to attract people, wherever we go, people follow us. We always joke about this. No matter where we happen to be, in few minutes, in the case of restaurants a bit longer, the place is packed. Should get payed for this.
Spending even more time in the by now not so cool lake, playing catch, looking for fishes, having time to browse through interior magazines, taking gorgeous sunset pictures and sharing some on the Instagram. No visits to neighboring villages, towns, we are moving within a 2 km radius. During the day even less, staying within the apartment, lake and pancake house triangle. How cool is eating pancake for lunch two days in a row?
My list to do things is growing, some decisions to be made, but not yet. I am focusing on the present, want to be in the moment, to fully enjoy every second. Trying to keep my mind on positive things, visualizing my dreams, feeling the gratitude, imagining how would it feel to have it accomplished, I am a good student. Still learning. Not looking back, dwelling on the past, not worrying about the future, staying in the present. If you are happy at this moment, or satisfied, then you will always be happy. It’s high time I start applying this to my own life as well, instead of advising it to others. I am grateful for having this life, grateful for my past, because that’s what made me who I am.
Trying to teach my son the same. He has a tendency to complain, not fully appreciating anything. You want to him to have the best of everything, trying to protect him from the “evils” of the world. Many parents fall into the trap of giving their offspring what they dreamed of when they were small, trying to fulfill their own long lost dreams in them. It is a mistake, which I’ve committed occasionally. Playing on the piano is one of them, I am just lucky that he loves it as well. Telling stories about my childhood doesn’t help. He thinks that was back then, like in the Stone Age, when it was normal to make kids work in the garden,or do household chores. We are going through a phase again, when even getting him to take a shower results in arguments. We seem to disagree nonstop, it’s a bit disheartening. I’ve got only one tool in my hand, his iPad. Without it he is lost, becomes my sweet, obedient son, who would do anything just to get his “friend” back. Sad, come to think of it. Gone are the days, when for the promise of getting an ice cream I happily spent the whole day babysitting my sister. Instead chores are measured in minutes of iPad time. He created a full list of them pinned onto the fridge door.
Gathering leaves half an hour= 15 minutes iPad
Vacuuming upstairs/dusting. = 15 minutes iPad
Washing up after dinner. = 5 minutes iPad
How much iPad time would it take to get him forget about it for a week?
No wonder even Steve Jobs didn’t allow his own kids to use them at home!