Yoga

breathe in, breathe out

step forward

expand

tension and relaxation.

my body is organic and mechanic 

joints as gears and pulleys

bones as struts and braces

---

I've begun a daily yoga practice and I find myself visualizing my body differently. This is a result of that.

Julep

Sunshine in the morning and drinks after dark -

I lit the lanterns and wrapped us all in blankets.

Trains rolled by in the night and we smiled under a cloudy moon like small children with big secrets.

I lit the lanterns and we drank mint juleps with too much water.

My garden will keep growing and next time I'll pick more mint.

---

Tonight we had our first (of many) rooftop dinners complete with mint juleps. 

"Heaven's a julep on the porch."

Borrel

Beers with friends after

work - this is how we relax.

I'll have another. 

---

A haiku after a lot of missed trains and a project end celebration. I love my colleagues. 

Not an armchair adventure

The world in pictures on book pages and web pages.

Each one accompanied with a pithy description - just enough to help you maintain the illusion, believe the lie

that you know a place, you've been there

even from the comfort of your armchair.

There's no need to pack, passports are passé 

when all you have to do is scroll -

Past the personal anecdote about seeing fragmenting frescoes in Milan, or never ending vineyards in Galicia.

Below the part when she fell in love with an Italian farmer 

or a Parisian macaron.

After the description of the sunrise over Cappadocia from a hot air balloon or Switzerland from a free fall.

Below the story of distant relatives in Bavaria and old friends in Spain.

Just keep scrolling, down, down,

TL;DR

It's time to get up out of your armchair, and see the world in detail.

---  

Every day I learn more about the world that I want to see and experience for myself. I'm incredibly lucky to be living in Europe and have access to travel in a way that most people do not. This experience is full of opportunities and I intend to take full advantage of it. 

I find that the more I plan the more there is to see and I get overwhelmed by the size of the world and the abundance of cultural and natural treasures to see. But I'm excited too!

Today

Today the air is new, the air is open

like a tulip blossoming, petals unfolding

skin so sheer it lets the light shine into it, shine through it

casting colored patches over cotton clouds.

Today the sky is high, the sky is infinite -

a soft quilt spread out over the land and thrown 

upwards to shake out the dirt, shake out the darkness

from before.

Today the sun is close, the sun is warm. 

It stretches spindly fingers down and out to touch my face.

The sun caresses my face, exploring like a new lover

asking permission to see more, to know more.

---

Today was beautiful! I forgot how spring feels like someone opened a door into a garden you forgot was there. I'm excited for more beautiful days like today. 

Wild flowers

I have been walking for a while now. And as I wander, I always stop to smell the lady slippers and the lilacs.

I have held sweet onions and stalks of summer wheat. 

I have strolled through forests of foxglove and 

over hills of heather. I have gathered and pressed 

purple thistle and tulips.

This is my posey, my tribute to beautiful things growing wild.

---

I was thinking about tulips as a symbol of the Netherlands. This led to a list of flowers that hold meaning for me. I have always loved how a color or a scent can bring back a memory of a place or a time. For me, this bouquet of flowers is my backyard in Minnesota, the wheat fields of Walla Walla. It's walking the Camino with new friends and exploring Scotland with Dug (and soon my Mom). It's a beautiful piece of metalwork forged by a friend. All these memories from a few wild plants. 

2 for 1: magnolias and the moon

The night is cool - I smell magnolia blossoms and wet dirt. 

The bread was soft and the wine sweet. Your smile was warm. 

We ate and laughed until our hearts were overflowing and our bellies ached. 

---

Today it truly felt like spring. I spent half the day cooking an amazing meal with a wonderful friend. It was a perfect day. 

---

Since I didn't post yesterday, here's a second from today:

I plucked the cherry moon 

from the black curtain sky and bounced it on my rooftop, 

like a red rubber ball, 

higher and higher until it bounced right back into place. 

Beauty sleep

The tenth day over

I'm tucked away in a cocoon 

Preparing for flight. 

---

I have the day off tomorrow. All I can think about is getting my "beauty sleep". 

Lekker slapen allemaal!

Windsday

Rain drops
Wind blows
Eyes close
I fall
Asleep

---

"It's Windsday, Piglet"

I'm ruunning on empty. Looking forward to a long weekend and lots of rest.

Tree rings

Every minute another cut, another gash

splinters flying through the air 

pulp gathering in piles on the floor

Once thick skin now cracked and peeling patience wearing thin

it only take one well placed blow to shred what's left,

cracking joints aching echoes to the bone as I sway swinging crashing to the ground

Did you hear it? Will you come to count my rings and gawk at my exposed roots?

---

There's definitely more here. I think this is a new friend to revisit and get to know. 

Sounds like home

Home is the slam of the screen door on a summers eve.

Home is tires on gravel coming up the drive 

And Dad's footsteps on the basement stairs.

Home is the scrape of a snow shovel across the driveway 

And the front door sliding across a frosty stoop

And Bluegrass Saturday morning. 

Home is Mom talking on the phone 

And Dad reading the news aloud. 

Home is popcorn popping

And birds chirping 

And siblings squabbling. 

No matter where you are, somethings just sound like home. 

---

I've been thing about home tonight. Wishing I could here these sounds with my own ears and not through Skype. 

Go-live Haikus

I must remember 

To eat more often today

So I'm not hangry. 

It's hard to tell if 

you're calling my phone because 

They all sound the same.

I'm definitely 

Walking much more slowly than

At the beginning. 

Some days it's best to

Just eat all the sushi and

Then go straight to bed. 

--- 

Today was day 3 of 5 go-live support shifts. 12 hour days of walking around the hospital and providing technical support to doctors, nurses, and registrars. And I'm doing a lot of it in Dutch. My brain is fried. So here are some go-live haikus - my thoughts do get much bigger than this during go-live. 

Koffiepauze

Blinking bubble eyes in the morning;

Wake up, recharge, caffeinate. 

In the afternoon: soothing warmth. 

Pause, rest, relax. 

Morning, noon, and evening 

Take time to smell the coffee. 

---

Dutch culture is surrounded by coffee. Everywhere you go, you are offered a cup of coffee. And work environments survive from Koffiepauze to Koffiepauze. It's a chance to get to know and enjoy the company of your colleagues throughout the day. 

I love the coffee here as well as the coffee culture - it's a chance stop whatever you are doing and be present in the moment. Gezillig. 

Xx 

Marybeth 

Dinner with oysters

Empty oyster shells scattered over crushed ice while voices break between belly laughs like waves on the sand. 

You tipped an oyster into your mouth and looked down to find a beach 

left behind. 

I clutch my side, rocking silently, gasping for air. 

You laugh along with us, eyes watering with sea salt tears. 

The comfort of friends and food rolls up and crashes over us. We wander home to bed, falling asleep to the sounds of the ocean. 

----

Another year, another NaPoMo challenge. 

Despite not living in the US, I pave decided to participate again this year. April is always made better by writing and I'm particularly excited to chronicle the spring do my first full year living abroad. 

I'm excited to see where this year's challenge takes me. Stick around for poetic postcards from Europe. 

xx