Fragmented thinking

Have had a cold for the last few days, so all thoughts are a bit fragmented:

– We survived our first Guy Fawkes Day in England.  Bonfires, fireworks, burning of effigies.  Although part of me was interested in going out and seeing the sights, I’m glad we stayed home.  Student activity is not always a good mix with small children.  There was plenty of activity in our area, and Katherine seemed a bit alarmed at the fireworks we saw from our kitchen window.  Not that I think I would relish explaining why half of Oxford gets set on fire when she gets old enough to ask questions.

– I spent a good chunk of the weekend lying around the house, affording me an opportunity to watch Katherine and Sydney play.  I was reminded that she treats her two parents very differently: plays differently, cries differently, sits and cuddles differently.  I’m glad she has good one-on-one time with both of us, since we seem to bring out very different sides of her personality.  We both roughhouse with her, and we both cuddle up with books with her, but our interactions with her look quite different.  I wonder if it’s dawning on her that Mama is slowly getting less fun: less focused on just Katherine, less agile, and less willing to be jumped on.  That’s just the beginning, kiddo!

– Since we are still quite connected to North American friends, family, and culture, I continually find myself waiting for the world to wake up–and surprised by what is, for me, late-evening activity.  Reading my morning news with breakfast, it seems that the world has slowed down, and then there seems to be a burst of activity when I’m winding down for bedtime.  I know we’ll slowly integrate ourselves into English media, but I’ll still get email from my department chair at 9pm, and we’ll still be coordinating chats with family that are 4 and 6 hours behind!

Erin