20.12.2011

Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward in the same direction.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Our family sabbatical in many ways proves to be a test for us. One of the people we have come across during our travels said that he could barely stand a two-week vacation with his family, let alone a whole year !

Well, we already have been together 24/7 for the past 304 days! Not that I have been counting the days . I just checked the calendar to see how long it has actually been so far. Back home, our life looks like at many other homes. We go off to work, our kids go to school. The time spent together is limited.

Such an intensive period of being together turns out not to be burdensome for us at all. On the contrary. The kids absorb information about life and the world and they love our regular reading time. Ania and I talk  to each other more often than usual. Our joint meals are priceless. Regardless of the conditions we live in, Ania makes sure we do not waste an opportunity to eat together.

Obviously there are times when the kids are just overwhelmed with energy and an urgent outlet for it needs to be found urgently e.g. going for a swim, hiking etc.

Occassionaly, our bliss is interrupted by external information concerning ourselves.

This constant being together has yet another interesting aspect. Even before our sabbatical Ania and I would frequently catch each other thinking about the same things at a given moment. After 10 months of travel our mutual telepathy is shockingly high! Sometimes I feel we would not need to talk at all … so aligned are our thoughts. I do not think I am willing to test that though .