joy acoustics

The inception Kids say funny things. That's for sure. Dinner is a good time to have wide-range conversations with my boys. Sometimes we discuss  the purpose of a toast or blush brushes. Other times about their future. Of course I don't ask a 3 year old "How do you envision your life 20 years from now?". I asked these instead, around 3 years ago:

I am soon to be 40. The following is something I drafted at 37. It will be my starting point for counting my learnings and my blessings from the past 3 years:

Beginning of 2017, my boys were brushing their teeth before bedtime. I took their silence as an opportunity to announce I might take a 2 week work trip abroad.
"But mom, you never leave home!"

First day of 2020 I wrote this on Instagram: "Happy New Year! No makeup, pj pants on but wearing my celebratory earrings. That’s how I walked into 2020. I feel rested and ready to surrender to whatever this new year has for me...". My heart pinched the moment I hit the share button. I thought it was my self doubt whispering to my ear: "Girl, do you really feel that self assured and ready?!". In hindsight, I know it was my intuition. On a personal level, my grandfather passed away 2 days after. In a couple of weeks, classes were closing because of influenza. More recently the world has been closing because of the coronavirus. Do I still feel I am ready? I think so. I did my homework, the self work. Going deeper to the core of me. Where peace stays.

I love journalling and I know these are unprecedented times. So I have been keeping a journal of my weeks in confinement:

I'm an early bird. I love the silence of being the only one awake in the house. This Easter Sunday, I was on a mission. We are confined at home, so I planned something we never did before. Something that could bring us a little bit of excitement in these curious pandemic times. An Easter egg hunt. I split my chocolate eggs in two and added 1 Kinder egg. Then I had my share of fun trying to camouflage them in 2 rooms: kitchen and living room.

"Another morning comes. It always does. Time always moves at the same rate, only feelings have different speeds. Every day can mark a whole lifetime or a single heartbeat, depending on who you spend it with." 
Beartown, Frederik Backman

I spent my Saturday with Beartown, a book by Frederik Backman. Started reading Friday around midnight. Finished 27 hours later, at 2.40 am. I know so little about hokey but I was so vividly rooting for the ice hockey team. I have been reading Backman's books in chronological order, so happy I still have quite a few left.

Some places lure you from afar. For years, everywhere I turned on the internet, there was yet another bright and cheery image of Marrakesh. When my hubby called to let me know about a special travel offer I was quick to say yes. Morocco started as an offer I could not refuse, evolved into a decision I almost regretted and concluded as a 4 day escape I would always redo.

21st of March 2020. Into the woods we went to breathe in some fresh air. Outside of our 7th floor apartment where we have been self isolating for the past 4 days. I had a feeling it could be our last chance to go out for weeks. I was right because lock-down followed promptly the week after.

Do you like to dance? I still do.

When I was a teenager dancing was one of my favorite things in the world. I used to go dancing every week. I also danced alone in front of a big mirror in our living room. Now my boys like to dance too. Every now and then we do spontaneous disco sessions at home.

8 March 2018

Today I woke up around 3.50 am. I lingered in bed for a few more minutes, having trouble turning because Griza, the cat, was glued to my legs. She was sound asleep, despite my fidgeting. I was ready to start the day.