Where I´ve been.

So I survived the anual family gathering with all my in-laws and extended in-laws. Ok, it wasn´t that bad. They are all nice people. Really, they are. They opened their doors and let us hurricane of a family sleep in their huge, all ecofriendly wooden house in the deepest black forest. The children highly enjoyed the overflowing nature, picking plums and hazelnuts and apples and raspberries and grapes and wild herbs, and no matter whether the rain was pouring down or the sun was shining they were sitting in the mirabelletree with their cousins.We took extended hiking trips through the woods, Ronja was more than eager learning about finding mushrooms from her uncle, Eva liked the springs and little waterfalls everywhere, and I now finally know how ribwort and St. John´s wort look, and how I can use them: So this was cool. We had the full impact of rural life, including horses,and cows, you could hear their bells chiming all day long, and as I grew up in a very rural area, farms and small villages give me the creeps. I mean, I really don´t mind the smells and sounds and all that stuff. That´s okay. What I´m afraid of is the closeness of people, living there for generations all knowing each other. Guess I´m prejuduced. Or spoiled, from my chidhood in one very narrowminded village. I use to say my life got better according to the size of the town I moved to, and I still think this is true. So, even though everyone was lovely and friendly and nice, I still felt a little like an actor. But I think I played my role quite well.
And about my hitchhiking? I decided to stay a day longer, Tim decided to leave a day earlier, and so we all went home together. No hitchhiking adventures, no family-free days to compensate for the huge gathering. Sigh. But it was still nice. Really. And I love riding back home on the passenger street through the dark, kids sleeping in the back, and listening to music and let my mind wander around. I absolutely love it.
Around midnight, they played this song on the radio: I´m not sure how the magic of this song works on non german speaking listeners, but I chose the life version so everyone can see Campino bouncing around. Once upon a long ago I went to their concerts on a regular base... that was before I was a mom, and now I´m beginning to chatter. What I wanted to say is: This is a great message, and I thought it appropriate. It always is.