Sakura Bloom Sling Diaries: Travel

This is my sixth and final post for Volume V of the Sakura Bloom Sling Diaries: All the Love. Dan and I have been so honored to be a part of this series with so many inspiring parents. We hope you've enjoyed following along with us on this journey, and thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the support we've received over the last six months. My previous posts can be found here: strength, understanding, surprise, vision, and bliss. Dan's last post will appear on my instagram page (@outlawnotahero), and you can read his previous posts by searching the hashtag #danslingdiary. Thank you again new readers and old alike, as well as a special thank you to Sakura Bloom for being such an amazing company to collaborate with. We've loved being a part of your story. 

My sweet little Oswin,

It feels very fitting to me that our last post for the Sakura Bloom Sling Diaries is on the theme of travel. It is something that your Papa and I hold most dear. It is something you've been doing since you were born. It is something that we are constantly either planning, doing, or recuperating from. 

It is, I believe, one of the greatest gifts that we can give to you. And it is, at its core, a combination of the five themes we've already discussed in the sling diaries: strength, understanding, surprise, vision, and bliss. 

I've never felt as vulnerable or empowered as when we're traveling. To be a stranger in a strange town can be exhilarating and scary, and depending on the choices that you make it can quickly turn into a game of choose your own adventure. To order a meal in another language from your own, to not offend with your own customs, the choice to wander with or without a map. It can be scary. You may stammer your words when ordering your cafe au lait in French. You may end up on the wrong train in London. You may end up with the wrong toppings on your pizza due to being lost in translation in Italy. You may play a little bit of charades to attempt to make yourself understood at the panini counter. It can be humbling as you learn what it feels like to live outside of your comfort zone, even if just for a short while. But trust me, that cappuccino, pizza or panini will taste really good afterwards, because you found the strength to speak to those who might not understand you, in your own words. 

Finding your own words, your own voice. This brings us back to the theme of understanding, one that is a universal necessity whether you tap into the wanderlust in your blood or not. Whether you're in Germany or your hometown, to learn to find and appropriately use your words is something that we often spend our whole lives doing. We have to work at it. Sometimes we're unsuccessful. We keep trying. In the same way that travel can shock us out of our comfort zone, remind us of how small we are in a big world, it can also help to remind us of how big our intentions are. Learning to find your voice in a foreign land can help to strengthen that voice when you need to stand up for yourself, or others, when and if the time comes. Learning to understand and be understood is a tool that will serve you your whole life, whether traveling or not.

Surprise is maybe my second favorite part of travel. Even when we return to a place we love, there are surprises to be had. A new cafe. A new exhibit at the museum. Experiencing a different season. Randomly finding yourself at a Queen cover band concert on the beach in Italy. Saying yes to adventure and saying yes to not sticking to a rigid travel agenda can bring you upon some of the most delightful and surprising things, both in travel and in everyday life. Keeping the surprise in your travel plans is probably the best piece of advice I can offer to you Oswin. Sure you can hire a tour guide, or print out a schedule that you find online of all the things you just HAVE to see while in a certain city, but honestly, that way of travel has always bugged me. The experience is yours and yours alone. If you want to spend the day exploring on your own, finding things on your own, by all means do it. Some of the best places we've found while traveling have been places we've stumbled upon. Yes, I have seen the David statue in Florence, yes it is quite lovely, but I have also found a small restaurant that served up the best truffle gnocchi I've ever had in my life. Which do you think I was more excited about? Let no one tell you that your experience in a city was flawed because you didn't see oh-my-God-the-most-amazing-this-and-that-ever-to-be-created-with-the-three-hour-wait-to-get-in.

Oh and speaking of food,  always ask the bartenders, servers and baristas where they would eat, their sage advice has never steered us wrong, especially when it comes to local cuisine.

Travel may influence your vision for the future as well. I'm at a point in our lives where I consider most things that we do to be travel, because even after five years in SwitzerFrance I still find so much that is foreign and new to me. When we moved here, Oswin, I had just finished graduate school. My master's degree is for a field within the health professions. But I've found my true career passion while living here, while "traveling" in SwitzerFrance: fig trees. Specifically, propagating fig trees. Had you told me five years ago that at the age of 32 all I'd want to do is teach yoga and grow fig trees, well I would only have agreed with you on the former point. When my vision for the future changed, by moving here with Papa, my heart and mind were opened up to many other possibilities of things that I'm actually interested in. By traveling to France, by being open to our new surroundings, (a farming village at the foot of the Jura Mountains), I opened myself up to the possibility of loving every aspect of my life, of trying to control less, of going with the flow and where my interests lie. Had we never taken this leap, this leap into expathood, I would possibly never have even learned what a fig tree looked like,  let alone find my passion for them and all things that can be grown. I am forever grateful for the opportunity to have discovered that. New experiences, can change your vision and hopes for the future, and opening yourself up to new experiences and possibility can help you find your true happiness.

The bliss of travel is one that I don't think can be easily explained, but something that one feels. Because enjoying traveling and finding bliss in travel are two very different things. There are places on this earth that are just different for me, that put me at ease, that relax my entire body and soul. Some of these are unexpected to me, some not so much. Sitting on the beach by the Mediterranean in Vernazza, Italy, having a cappuccino at my favorite cafe right next to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, our weekly Sunday Market in Thoiry, brunch at my favorite spot in Philadelphia. All have a certain something that I just feel. I can't wait to see Oswin, as you continue to grow and travel, what places on this Earth will give you bliss. I hope that one day we can have a cup of coffee there.

But if I could add one more theme to this list, and one that is actually my favorite part of travel, it would be this: inspiration. Sure, travel can broaden your horizons, in terms of empathy towards others and pushing you out of your comfort zones, but to see the goods that others create, to taste the regional fare, to drink the wine that has been made by a family for generation upon generation, to learn about the flora and fauna, to see the places you've read about in not only history books, but favorite novels, well, that for me is the most amazing and mind blowing part of travel. Travel has made me want to learn more, read more, create more. I want to know every flower that grows on the Jura. I want to recreate the meals we've had in Budapest, Brussels and Lyon. I want to continue to learn French. I want to take all the trails to the top of all the mountains. This inspiration isn't only limited to our current experience Oswin. Whether we return to the United States one day or not, I hope that Papa and I are able to instill in you the wanderlust to travel to the places that tickle your fancy, that inspire you, that make you want to live and laugh and love and eat and create. I hope you always see life as travel, whether you're going to an outdoor market in Philadelphia, or one in France. I hope you always take pictures like a tourist, no matter what city you're in, just as your mama does. I hope you read about the places you've been, learn the histories, appreciate what and who has come before you. See the beautiful in all the places you go, and seek the inspiration that gets you out of bed in the morning. Surround yourself with others who do the same. If I've said it once, I'll say it a million more times: make your life beautiful, for you. And at least once in your life, pretty please, get lost in a new city. It will do your soul a world of good.   

Love,

Mama 

Sling pictured: SHABD Linen Shibori in Line by SHABD for Sakura Bloom

Pictures taken in Bourdigny, Switzerland 

Sakura Bloom Sling Diaries: Bliss

As many of you may recall, Dan and I have each been chosen to be sling diarists for the Sakura Bloom Sling Diaries Volume V: All the Love. This is the fifth of six posts that I will be sharing here on the blog (you can find my first post here, second post here, third post here, and fourth post here), and Dan will be sharing his over on Instagram a little later on. (You can find his past posts by searching #danslingdiary over on Instagram.) Today's post is all about the theme of bliss. I can't believe it's my next to last one! Where has the time gone?! Thank you all, new readers and old alike, for following along on this fun journey with us. 

My sweet little Oswin,

As I sit here, drinking my coffee while you nap, I think back to all the things that your Papa and I have done over the last five years of living along the French-Swiss border, the area that as you know, we like to affectionately call SwitzerFrance. And what stands out to me about this month's theme of bliss, is that my most blissful moments while living here have been the ones that were a bit left of center. The everyday, the seemingly mundane, or the times where things went seemingly wrong, and yet we were able to make things happen, despite consequences or circumstances. Europe has been good to us, but living on one paycheck means that you sometimes have to get creative when it comes to living and traveling just outside of one of the most expensive countries in the world, Switzerland.

Oswin, before you were born, Mama and Papa didn't have a car. Well, that's not entirely true, but it took us almost three years to be able to afford one. That can get tricky when you live at the foot of a mountain. When you get older we will tell you stories of when we used to walk uphill, both ways, 2 miles in each direction, in the snow, just to get baguettes, milk and eggs, and it will be completely true. We will tell you of the time Mama rode her bike 11 miles to bring home a large potted fig tree in her bike basket. We will tell you of our first year in SwitzerFrance, the year that Papa carried our Christmas tree on his shoulder well over a mile in the freezing cold. And the large slices of lumber that he carried home on his shoulder from the aforementioned 2 mile uphill each way in the snow walk, just to make us a Christmas tree stand, using a really cheap saw. There are so many stories like this Oswin, of a time before you were born, of a time before we had four wheels and a clutch. And though these stories may seem silly to some, they bring me so much joy and nostalgia. We were propelled by our ideas, and didn't want to miss out on life because we couldn't yet afford a car.

The truth of the matter is that we loved those walks, and those bike rides. Not everyone has to (or gets to, as I often told myself back then) walk 4 miles for food: to be in the fresh air, to have that connection to what they're eating by bringing it back through (sometimes) blood, (always) sweat, and (sometimes) tears. And though it might have been easier to borrow someone's car to drive to the Christmas tree market, and buy a pre-made stand for that tree, it was a lovely, albeit cold, walk back to our house. The stars were out, we could see our breath as we walked and talked, and when we came home we put on Christmas movies, poured ourselves glasses of wine, and proceeded to make our own salt dough ornaments (in case you're wondering, that explains our Star Wars and yoga businessman ornaments, as those were the only cookie cutters we had). We found our bliss by taking chances, and making things happen, even if it was difficult at times.

Now I know that living that life at this point in time isn't feasible, at least not everyday. But you and I, we do that shopping trip every once in awhile. It's nice, it's quiet, it's empowering, it's exhausting, and it reminds me of a time when we could take 3 hours and 4 miles to pick up our daily bread. But more often than not, we go for a hike on the mountain behind us, look for birds, check out trees and wild shrubs. Sometimes we go a little further away to do that, like on the day we took these pictures while hiking on Mont Blanc, in Chamonix, France. We had an unexpected glitch on that day's plans: you were apparently too young to take the telepherique up to a higher point on the mountain, called Plan de l'Aiguille du Midi (2317 m.). We could have hiked with you up to that point, but we started too late, and we'd lose the race against the sun. So instead we spent a little time hiking, and then, for the first time ever, walked around the city. We had an amazing day, both unexpected and exploratory. Who knew there was more to do in Chamonix besides hiking? Not this family, apparently. We strolled the streets, sat at a cafe and had some frites, you made friends with everyone who happened to look in your direction, and I swooned at all the shop windows. Sometimes it's the unexpected glitches that give us our most memorable and blissful days, and this was one that I won't ever forget.

But everyday bliss isn't just about making lemonade out of lemons, it's about who you're drinking the lemonade with. When you're with the people you love most in the world, even the most mundane acts, or the unplanned glitches, can turn into moments of pure gold. One of my favorite memories of living abroad has been when Papa and I road tripped to Pisa, Italy for a physics workshop. It was January, and like all of our road trips to Italy, we would have to go through the Mont Blanc tunnel. As we approached the line to go through the tunnel, we were told there was an avalanche warning, and that we would have to wait until the officials gave the all clear to continue forward. We were stranded, with a whole lot of angry skiers, in our cars, in a whole lot of snow. So what did we do? We had an avalanche picnic! Baguettes, cheese dip, berries and espressso in a thermos, while listening to the radio and occasionally getting out of the car to stretch our legs and throw the occasional snow ball at each other. Yes it slowed up our travel plans. Yes it was a little scary. Yes it was really early in the morning and cold, but because I was with my bestie, your Papa, I couldn't care less. A glitch in our plans turned into a fun hour of hanging out and appreciating not only the majestic scope that is Mont Blanc and the French Alps, but also appreciating the fierceness that is Mother Nature.

The avalanche warning wasn't the only glitch in our plans for that ten day trip. There was a small earthquake while we were in Pisa. There was an Italian train strike, which forced us to cancel our Florence portion of the trip. This was a bummer, but it led us to actually signing up to go to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, which we wouldn't have had the opportunity to do otherwise. It also forced me out of my comfort zone to take one of the last trains before the strike formally began to Lucca, a small medieval town about 45 minutes away, to explore solo. There was also a freak blizzard that hit the Mediterranean while we were heading to our last stop on the trip, a monastery turned spa in Monchiero Alto, where we somehow made it through a foot of snow with our old-and-lacking-snow-tires-or-chains-car. We were snowed in and forced to spend an extra night. (That was a great glitch.) What I'm trying to say, Oswin, is that the bumps are what make life interesting, and that trip, that ten days of all plans falling through and drinking a whole lot of lemonade (or in this case, Limoncino), turned into one of the most memorable, most blissful trips/times/ten day periods of my life. That will always remain one of the greatest times I've ever had, ever. There were scary moments, there were uncomfortable moments, there were moments when we just looked at each other and said "YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!" And it was the best. Road trip bliss, with my best friend in the whole wide world. Plans are meant to fall through, and the true test is what you do with that adventure as a result. We found the bliss in our logistical disaster, and we did it together.

I hope that you learn to turn the glitches into gold my dear. Because life is what you make of it, and if you make it blissful, it will be. Every moment won't be bliss, but if we keep trying, we can find the fun in most things. Food shopping without a car, carrying Christmas trees over a mile along a mountain, making the best of a freak blizzard or train strike: all have bliss hidden in those moments if you choose to see them. Find the happiness in the bumps in the road or the avalanche warnings, whichever the case may be. Appreciate all that your body can do, everyday. Appreciate the food you're putting into your body for fuel. Appreciate your health, which I can't stress enough. The mere fact of waking up and finding that you are healthy is bliss enough in itself to make the day go well, please don't ever forget that. Find the happiness in every act, because it's there, it really is. Even in walking four miles uphill both ways in the snow for groceries. You just have to look hard enough. And I hope that one day you'll find a partner in crime to appreciate those moments with. But just know that Papa and I will always be here to have an avalanche picnic with you, whenever you want, all you have to do is ask.

We'll even bring the lemonade.

Love,

Mama

Sling pictured: Essential Silk Sling in Shadow Tart, by Sakura Bloom

Sakura Bloom Sling Diaries: Vision

As many of you may recall, Dan and I have each been chosen to be sling diarists for the Sakura Bloom Sling Diaries Volume V: All the Love. This is the fourth of six posts that I will be sharing here on the blog (you can find my first post here, second post here, and third post here), and Dan will be sharing his over on Instagram a little later on. Today's post is all about the theme of vision. Thank you all, new readers and old alike, for following along on this journey with us.

My sweet little Oswin,

I could sit here and say that I have visions for your future; that you'll go to a good university, followed by an esteemed graduate school, become a doctor or scientist, meet someone who makes you laugh, and start a family. I could say that I see you taking a gap year, travelling around Europe, followed by teaching English in Argentina, and finally helping the needy in a tiny village somewhere off the grid. I could say that I envision you making all of your food from scratch, and organic, of course, for all of your life (including that gap year). That you'll never try a cigarette, that you'll listen to Johnny Cash, that you'll never be mean to another human or animal, that you'll always choose to root for Philadelphia sports teams...

...I might as well also envision that you'll find the cure for cancer, while you're at it. 

(It'll probably be during that gap year. I would envision that gap year being a very productive one for you.)

Being that you're just a wee babe, just approaching your very first birthday, it feels silly to think those things. As parents, we want what is best for our children. We mean well, in everything we try to teach our children, with every experience we provide for them, with every lesson learned. But what if, instead of trying to shape their futures for them, and lead them down a specific path, we become more interested in helping them envision their own future, towards their own personal happiness?

Which leads me to my real and truthful vision for your future Oswin: I want you to be happy. 

Whatever that is for you.

Maybe you want to cure cancer, on a gap year in Europe, while cooking all of your organic meals from scratch. But maybe that's not what you want at all. Perhaps the life you choose will not involve travelling, or graduate school, or jamming out to quality tunes by Johnny Cash. Maybe you will end up rooting for New York sports teams...

...I have to put my foot down on that last part, as there is only so much a Mama's heart can take.

I hope that we can help you in your quest for happiness, to find what you are truly passionate about in life, and support you. Whatever that is. I feel that our job is to expose you to a lot of different things, such as travel, cooking, gardening, the great outdoors, reading, music, and see where those take you. Sometimes activities you loved one minute can be flights of fancy, but sometimes those flights of fancy can lead you to the real deal, to what you could see yourself doing for the rest of your life. I hope we can find that balance, of giving you your space to explore and thrive, while being there to support you along the way. 

Your vision and your future are yours and yours alone, Oswin. You are the only one that has to live in it, and find happiness within it. Once you figure that part out, all else will fall into place. And if doesn't, you're always welcome to change your mind and start over. It may be different than what Papa and I would have done, or thought would make you happy, but that's the beauty of life: that one little person, created by two people, can have their own thoughts, ideas and opinions. Use your intelligence, use your inspirations, and use your inner (and outer) voice to create the most joyous and love filled life that you can possibly envision...and then live it. But just know that Papa and I will be there every step of the way, and we can't wait to see what life you create for yourself. 

Just please please pretty please don't become a Yankees fan. 

Love,

Mama 

Sling pictured: Essential Silk Sling in Shadow Tart, by Sakura Bloom

Sakura Bloom Sling Diaries: Surprise

As many of you may recall, Dan and I have each been chosen to be sling diarists for the Sakura Bloom Sling Diaries Volume V: All the Love. This is the third of six posts that I will be sharing here on the blog (you can find my first post here, and second post here), and Dan will be sharing his over on Instagram a little later on. Today's post will center around the theme of surprise. Thank you all, new readers and old alike, for following along on this journey with us.

My sweet little Oswin,

We went on a little hike the other day Oswin. A hike on the trail just behind our house, that leads us up to the cow pastures on the Jura Mountains. We said hello to the horses in one field, walked over stones, and took in all the silence of nature. We counted butterflies, light blue ones especially, and watched the grasshoppers in action. The wind was blowing gently, blowing the wild grass and brightly colored wild flowers of the mountain, and we stopped to notice the wild blackberries that were growing. Mama may have picked a few to snack on. We picked a few wildflowers and waved them around in the air. We even found something new and unexpected, a wild pear tree. All our years of living here and I have never noticed that wild pear tree. 

We walked up and up, not too far as you were getting sleepy, but enough to heal Mama's mountain-lust. We walked up to the one open field with the one dead tree in the middle of it. We checked on the birch trees and then just stood there, breathing in the mountain. With our back to the mountain we could look out over Geneva and the lake, as well as see the not far off Swiss vineyards and neighboring french towns. We waved to Jet d'Eau, which could be clearly seen from where we stood.

Something pulled us up onto the mountain that day little Oswin, and as cliche as it may sound, when the mountains call you must go.

The life of an expat is not a simple one my dear, you leave pieces of your heart in so many lands with so many friends, and sometimes it is hard to feel whole. Nowhere and everywhere feels like home, and while making your home in one land you yearn for that of another. On a typical day I am simultaneously homesick for the city and the sea, but yet can't imagine ever saying good-bye to "our" mountains. The Jura have stolen our collective hearts, and I'm sad for each day that we don't spend a portion of time exploring it's elevations and woods. Around every rock lies something new - a newly flowering plant, a chamois, an overgrown trail that we decide to try, a wild fruit plant. There are not many things in life anymore that can truly surprise us as nature can. 

When Papa and I were waiting for you to make your grand appearance into this world, we wanted to be surprised, by everything. We wanted the blissful chaos of taking an unknown and sometimes scary-as-hell-trail on the Jura. That kind of trail that typically leaves me telling Papa, "we have to turn back," and then upon looking behind me realizing that is not possible. We wanted you to show us the way to go, because like nature, if you try to control an unknown entity too much, it will show you just how little control you actually have. We didn't want to find out if you were a boy or girl until we saw you for the very first time. We didn't want to read any of the "What to Expect" books or the like, we wanted to, for better or for worse, figure you out on our own. We knew your name, but we were keeping that to ourselves, because sometimes surprises are fun to hold close to your chest. But for two people who like to make lists and have all of our bases covered, we were really flying pretty fancy free when it came to your arrival and early days. We wouldn't have had it any other way. You're going to be showing us the way for the rest of our lives, why not start with your birth. I knew things could go wrong, so we didn't have a set birth plan. We trusted you, and we trusted our doctor. We worked with surprise to allow you to do your thing and give us the most beautiful little bundle of joy in an almost 8 pound package that we could have ever hoped for.

Flowing free like the wind, letting the waves take you, letting the universe work in its own mysterious ways...allowing yourself to be flexible in this life will take you to wondrous places you may have never dreamt. Keep your eyes on your dreams, but know that there is not just one trail to the top of the mountain. One of the best hikes that Papa and I ever took was on a trail that it seemed no one had been through in awhile. The trail markers were there, but it became increasingly overgrown as we went higher and higher. As we neared the road, we were essentially scaling a wall. I didn't think we would make it. I was scared and cursing that trail marker for lulling us into a "safe" path, which seemed anything but. As Papa grabbed my hand and pulled me up onto the road, I realized that we had made it, and we had done something awesome, and different, something I had not thought we'd have done that day while drinking our morning coffee. Papa took my pocket knife and carved our initials into a tree. The silence of nature on this trail was deafening and beautiful, something we had not expected. A welcome surprise following our ascent. We found a cabin we had never seen before, and had lunch overlooking a field of wild daffodils...all things we would never have found had we taken our normal route to the top. 

All of the surprises in this life will not be wonderful and tree-lined though my dear. People will disappoint you. I hate to say it, but they will. People whom you thought were your friends, almost like family, will let you down, and it will hurt. Sometimes family will let you down. These are those gut wrenching surprises that will knock you off your feet that we wish we could protect you from, but we can't. And we shouldn't. Because through this process you'll learn who it's worth to give your time and energies to, and who it's just not meant to be with. Blood doesn't give someone the right to treat you any less than you deserve, nor does being a kindred spirit in a far-away land. But don't become jaded like your mama. Try not to take it to heart too much. Some people are meant to stay, and some are meant to go, and that's ok. That's good. Learning whom to let into your life and who to keep out can actually be one of the most life-affirming surprises of all. Surround yourself with positive people, because life is too short to be spent with people who are shitty to you. Learn from the sour surprises while you cherish the sweet ones.

The other day we went on a hike Oswin. We went further up than I had planned. Mama needed it. And then, somewhere off in the distance, we heard cow bells. This is normally a calming sound to me, but being with you on the mountain meant that we were in their territory, in their pasture, and it scared me a bit. Cows are a lot bigger once you're on the same side of the fence, as are their sharp and pointy Alpine horns. I couldn't see them, but I could hear them as we picked up the pace heading down the mountain. We had enough surprises for one little hike. After all, little adventurers need their naps, and their mamas need coffee. We'll say hi to the cows another day.

Love,

Mama

Sling pictured: Essential Linen Baby Sling in Twilight-Marine by Sakura Bloom