I… miss… my…

“I… miss… my… friends… and… my… school… in… Santa… Monicaaaa!!!” Marcus crying unconsolably after throwing up at school at the end of the day (he had eaten a whole chili pepper on an empty stomach…) PS: Thank you, our dear Mrs. Thomas 🙂

Every path that Jeff and I, individually and as a family, have chosen to take in our lives has its own pros and cons, ups and downs, benefits and compromises… And this specific path that we are on now that we call “year of adventure” or “sabbatical”, is no different. We didn’t take this path to escape our life in Santa Monica but rather to challenge ourselves and our lives and to grow individually and as a family. Of course, as adults, Jeff and I made this decision for our children without asking them their opinion, fair or not. But especially during hard times, we feel even more validated by our choice of moving across the world, far from a comfortable and familiar setting; seeing how much the kids are learning about how to talk and cry their feelings out with us, how they acknowledge and tolerate their emotions, good or bad, and how they rely on their own inner self to continue on their path, chosen or imposed, whatever that may be, is an incredible journey for all of us.

It was excruciating seeing Marcus in complete disarray crying unconsolably after throwing up, caught up in a huge moment of weakness, when his emotions about the friends and the life that he was forced to leave behind were pouring out like an erupting volcano. But it was even more empowering to witness how he was able to talk it out in his search for comfort, tolerate it, calm down and use his inner strength to find balance in his life again.

Life is life regardless; in Santa Monica, Bali and elsewhere 🙂 and for us life is made of “good” times and “hard” times together.

And now that my therapy session is over (thank you…), I will start writing about southern Bali, the area that we are exploring this weekend.

We seized the moment and decided to take advantage of a long weekend and travel to Balangan Beach, a beautiful stretch of white sand framed by bamboo huts, crystal clear ocean, rocky cliffs, bright blue sky and unbelievable sunsets.

We are perfecting our practice of having zero agenda and zero expectations. Hanging out at the beach has always been a family favorite and we feel like we are now turning it into an art: swimming, collecting what to us look like very exotic shells, learning about all kinds of sea creatures in the clear waters of the tide pools, admiring the breathtaking scenery and awe-inspiring fluorescent pink sunsets, reading, loosing track of time, moving slowly and freely and even surfing! (Who would have thought we have such amazing surfer kids?!)

Life is good because it is made of profound melt downs like Marcus’ and striking sunsets like the ones we shared together in Balangan Beach and we don’t take any of these for granted.

Sampai jumpa nanti!