What Is And What Should Never Be

Nearly a month ago now I was able to join my uncle, aunt, and cousins on another European weekend. They live in Germany, and when family (this time my mom) come to visit they often travel somewhere near(ish)by. This time it was Haarlem and Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Haarlem is a small town just outside of Amsterdam and like all Dutch towns (I'm guessing) it is lined with canals, bicycles, and distinct architecture. It is all so charming. We stayed here and really enjoyed the quietness of it. The first night there we strolled around, toured a windmill, and I chickened out of riding a carnival ride that flips you upside down because apparently age 30 is when I become afraid of carnival rides. We picked up some cheese and things for dinner and ate at home. I never relax on holiday so this was a nice change of pace. If you know the story of Corrie ten Boom, this is the town her family is from. Their watch shop/home, which served as a hiding place sheltering Jewish men and women du

There are two seasons here--summer and winter. I get that now. The season we are currently experiencing is referred to as summer. That dark moody spell that began around 30 October and lasted 'til Easter--they call that winter. As a person whose favourite seasons have always been fall and spring (me along with everyone, right?), I kept looking for signs of these seasons, confused to find no clear markers for either. Fortunately, the best part of those seasons--mild weather--is a year-round feature in Scotland. (The average low for the year is 33 F and the average high is 66 F.) The big difference in the seasons it not so much temperature or weather as it is daylight. Light is the absolute key. In December the sun didn't rise 'til nearly 9:00 and was a memory by 4:00. Today, the sun woke me up at 5:00 and won't let me think about sleep 'til half nine. (And it keeps getting lighter through June!) In winter I wore a sweater every day and socks all the time. In