Birds feathers, changes and blackberries

It's been a bit more than one year since we definitely moved. It is actually the first summer we have spent together at home, the three of us. 

Yesterday afternoon, after work, we went to have a walk and to look for blackberries in the garden. There are a lot of them which are not ready yet, but we could pick up some of them. We'll certainly make a blackberries cake with.

We found some birds feathers on the floor and I immediately thought about a Kyo Maclear's book I will speak to you about that was a kind of revelation last summer. I looked at Sacha, at Samuel, and I let them to continue walking into the forest. It was in another book, called Mr. Flux, where Kyo Maclear said:

“You can make change or it can make you. Change is to keep us on our toes. Change is to make us look more closely. What doesn't change are the arms you use to hug with. Those stay the same.” 

- Kyo Maclear, Mr. Flux

We discussed about how fast time has passed by since we moved here. We realize we do not miss the city. We feel so lucky at the end of these summer days.

Tilia seeds, apples and Alejandro Zambra

It happened again, we went for a walk and we came back with apples from one of the garden trees (another kind of apples, that we will use to cook our baby's compote), and flowers.

We have Samuel's parents at home these days. They help us a lot with the garden and housework. Since Sacha was born, the more time we spend together, the more we feel how lucky we are having them not so far away. Actually, we are so happy about Sacha knowing that he can enjoy his four great grandparents. 

The end of the summer is approaching and I feel nostalgic. Sacha is growing up so quickly, fruits are ready to eat and we feel like all plans we did for this summer are being postponed because of the lack of time. Nothing new actually. I guess this is the way life goes on and this is also something we have to get use to when we live in the countryside, we have a job and we have children, right? 

When I feel nostalgic I often read books I've already read. Don't ask me why, but I felt the need to read something by Alejandro Zambra. I got "Facsímil" from the library, which is not maybe one of his most popular books, but one I also like a lot. I do love his writing. Even more, one of my favorite quotes about the exercise of writing is coming from his book "Formas de volver a casa", translated into English as "Ways of going home":

"I knew little, but at least I knew that: no one could speak for someone else. That although we might want to tell other people's stories, we always end up telling our own."

I guess everything we write, we create, we plan and dream of in life has something to do with our story. Being nostalgic as we are feeling today and thinking about childhood, our ancestors, our own stories and life nowadays, we decided to start working on a new handmade project we had already been thinking about. It has something to do with tilia seeds, persil and a tribute to our ancestors, so we started picking up seeds from the floor, under the tree. It was a silent moment full of peace.

Lesson of today: simple things are often full of love and honesty.