This was the month my baby stopped breastfeeding and started walking. Can we just take a moment to let that sink in because I keep looking at her and doing a double take at how much little girl she is where before she was all baby.
It’s been a busy and fun month. My brother in law married his beautiful fiancee on the 1st in Copenhagen (no April fool!). I spent a wonderful day in Brussels seeing some of my best friends there. And we got to spend a whole week in the UK with my family which was a special time. And in between? Easter, my birthday, countless afternoons in the park and a sermon preached the week after Easter. April, you were good to me.
This month I’ve been…
reading.
Well, not so much. I’ve hardly cracked open a cover and I miss that. I have started reading The Dance of the Dissident Daughter, by Sue Monk Kidd. I’m only about a chapter in but it’s really interesting. Also a great one for leaving lying around for when your slightly-more-conservative Christian friends come calling!
I did love being home because my parents get the newspaper delivered every day. Every day!! Such a joy to eat my breakfast with the pages spread open in front of me again. I remember how much of my news these days is in short form – the quick BBC updates mostly. But every issue is more complex than 700 words can represent, and so it was great to get to dig into some stories a bit further for a week.
watching.
With my parents I watched The Hundred-Foot Journey, about an Indian family who open a restaurant in a small French village opposite a michelin starred restaurant. It was a fun story but the film felt too long, like it could have been told much better if they squished out half an hour’s worth of scenes and pushed the emotional drama a bit more. Like I wanted the two older characters to address the fact they were both mourning their loved one.
Rasmus and I also finally finished watching How I Met Your Mother, which has accompanied us through the last few years of marriage. I sobbed most of my way through the last season. Something about all the changes and the growing up and the relationships and babies… I guess it touched a nerve!
listening.
Krista Tippett’s interview with Greg Boyle for On Being this month was profound and inspiring. I listened on a walk through the park with my sleeping baby but had to relisten once I got home so I could jot down thoughts and quotes. Really worth a listen.
eating.
Well I ate moss. (see below)
But aside from that, I made Indian Butter Chicken for the first time and it was delicious. Also this Mexican Grilled Chicken salad, and this Asian Chicken salad (I guess I’m trying to be healthy?).
I also accidentally invited 14 adults and 3 children to lunch on Easter Sunday. So we borrowed plates and chairs, roasted four chickens, made my mum’s amazing chocolate lime cheesecake, and had an absolutely wonderful celebration.
travelling.
We spent the first week of April in Copenhagen, for my brother in law’s wedding. Proving they are the cool ones of the family, the reception was in a bar on the oh-so-trendy Jægersborggade with a pile of doughnuts in place of wedding cake. And then the family had dinner at Mielcke & Hurtigkarl, an innovative gourmet restaurant. Oh my, we ate well. Also I ate moss for the first time. Not too bad; kinda like kale.
Then in the middle of the month, two good friends from my Brussels days were flying back in for a wedding, so Kaya and I made the day trip up to say hi to them and some of my other closest friends there. It was gloriously warm and sunny, I had multiple moments of stranger-kindness as I negotiated getting my girl and her buggy there and back on the train. And is there anything better than having quality time with friends who’ve known you through some of your most formative years?
Finally, we spent a week in the UK staying at my parents. I also got to see my sister, my old flatmate from my Brussels days, the wonderful Naomi Williams, and my Grandpa. Kaya went paddling in the sea for the first time (it was COLD!) and we managed to stop her eating too much sand so win!
loving.
Getting to spend time with so many dear friends this month. It always does my soul good to reconnect with people who have been significant influences in my life or are becoming them!
The British seaside. Complete with chain ferry across the harbour, fish and chips, and adorably retro beach huts. Sandbanks, we liked you.
Copenhagen brunch. Seriously. It’s my one important tip for you if you ever visit Copenhagen. Go for brunch. Every day. They do it soooo well. (We tried Cafe Taxa in Nørrebro this time and it was surprisingly good value for the normally expensive city).
The transition away from breastfeeding. It seems like not the done thing to admit this, but even though it was easy from the start, I never really enjoyed it much. I’m glad I was able to for this long, and I did have a day of nostalgia when she was ready to stop, but overall it’s been such a relief.
Buffer, a social media app my husband introduced me to. For time-starved people like me, it’s pretty wonderful. It basically means if you follow me on twitter, you won’t get 20 posts from me in ten minutes and then nothing for three days… and it’s EASY.
Birthdays. I went for all you can eat Japanese with Rasmus and Kaya for lunch, and then out for Italian with seven of my best friends in the evening. Aside from eating incredibly well, I felt so amazingly loved that day. It was something of a revelation moment as I step into this next year of life.
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I think that’s about it for the month. What have you been up to?
As always, I’m linking up with Leigh Kramer. It’s always fun to read through some of the other posts for inspiration and recommendations.
