Everything I Could Never Tell You

Before I get on with the post ... isn't this a lovely title?  I borrowed it from somewhere or other and it brings to mind a list, regarding no one in particular:

... Imagine my surprise upon discovering that, after all those years, you were just as much an enigma as the rest of them.

... You were wrong about eyes not being able to smile, although I'll admit it never occurred to me until halfway through our first conversation.

... The last thing you ever said to me was "have fun," and I never quite knew what to do with it.

...

This morning while on Pinterest (what else), I stumbled across the following quote by Karen Salmansohn (author of The Bounce Back Book):

"What if I told you ten years from now your life would be exactly the same?  Doubt you'd be happy.  So, why are you afraid of change?"

My initial reaction went something like this: 

"Quit it!  I haven't even had my coffee yet!"

Then I really stopped and thought about it.

If, in ten years, I was exactly in the same place as I am now, I would still be 25 (and no worse for the wear because it was an ageless decade), and I would still be living with my boys in this beautiful little apartment in this beautiful little town.  Could be worse.

In this moment, I am king.

On the other hand ... I would still be trying to accomplish the exact same goals, daily, without ever making any progress.  I would still be living on a different continent than the rest of my family, still staring blankly at messy data projects that make me want to stick my fingers light sockets, and still spending every waking moment with the child who is now rubbing peanut butter into my couch.  (Excuse me a minute, would you?)

Also I would not be tan.  

So that settled it.

I suppose I'd rather embrace change.

On that note, I've decided to write a monthly post summing up All Things Completed Within the Last 30 Days (give or take), to keep myself motivated.  You may recall the similar post I wrote about the month of January, titled I Have Not Yet Managed to Kill My Plants (which, incidentally, was a huge accomplishment for me.  Speaking of, the mint and basil are still thriving, although the daisies are looking a bit sickly).  So, onto February.

Once again, I've accomplished far less than I'd hoped.  I'm going to chalk that up to February being the shortest month of the year (and don't you dare point out that 29 days is hardly different than 30 or 31 because I'm trying to be positive over here).  If all else fails, I blame Sarah E. for giving me all five of Dorothy Sayer's Wimsey and Vane novels.  I'm completely useless with such good books lying around.

• I finally cleaned my baseboards.  Of course you'd never know by looking at them, as Denmark is apparently The Dust Capital of the world.  I also cleaned underneath my bed, but what else is new.  This is now a daily ritual (might as well add that dust mites are my second worst fear.  If the idea of microscopic creatures that live in your bed on a strict diet of your dead skin doesn't freak you out, I don't know what will).

• I managed to break the little button that turns my laptop on and off.  That was a major high point for me this month, as you can well imagine.
  
  
• I got my 300th blog follower (hello, you!), and lost my 300th blog follower (goodbye, you).  I also managed to publish a whopping 19 or 20 posts this month, which I think is worth noting since Keeping Up the Blog was on my 2012 resolution list.

• I finally got Isaac to sing his "abc's" and it has been a long time in coming, let me tell you.  I suspect he's known the entire thing for years, but naturally (being my child and all) he was far too stubborn to actually sing it out loud simply because I asked.  Now that he's seen The Sheer Excitement that was my reaction to his little performance (YOU DID IT!  MY BABY DID IT!  OH YOU'RE SO SMART, YES YOU ARE!  I LOVE YOU!  DO IT AGAIN!  WAIT, LET ME FILM IT! - good lord I'm that mom), I doubt I'll ever get him to stop.
  

Have a listen (and ignore the fact that I'm singing too, 

because he won't do it for the recorder otherwise.  

I suspect he knows it was meant for the blog).

{ Isaac minding his q's and p's }

• I also finally heard him say his name (as opposed to Bob or Mike, what else).  I was taking a shower and he walked in naked and said, "I Isaac.  I shower."  Now we just need to work on those other words ... you know ... articles and adjectives and things.

• I ran my first half-marathon.  It took ten and a half laps around my neighborhood, all the feeling in my toes, all the happiness of having painless knees, and two hours and twenty minutes.  I'm quite proud of myself because that is an excessively long time to be in constant motion, especially when every fourth turn is you against the Denmark Wind.  Also, I passed the same lady and her cocker spaniel no less than six times, and now she just laughs when she sees me (apparently I look silly when running, but as long as I don't look like Rory Gilmore in this clip, I don't care).  My goal for March is to cut down on my time a bit, buy some new ankles, and get my mileage up to twenty.

• I officially started my online Danish class.  It doesn't feel official, though, because apparently I am the only person taking the class, there are no deadlines on my homework, and I still sound like an idiot when trying to introduce myself.  At some point, I have to record myself saying the following:
  
  
  Hej, jeg hedder Lauren, og jeg arbejder med datakonvertering.
  Jeg er gift. Min mand hedder Tim.
  Tim er forsker, og han arbejder på Risø.
  Vi har en fire-årig søn som hedder Isaac.
  Vi er amerikanere og vi kommer fra Georgia. Vi taler engelsk.
  Vi bor i Roskilde på Knud Den Stores Vej.

So far, I can say Lauren, Tim, and Isaac.  

Also "hej" because it sounds pretty much the same as "hi."  

Nice progress, huh? 

Once I'm finished, it should sound something like this:

{ i only wish i was this fluent }

(thanks again for the recording, you!)

• The afore-mentioned post card series has been scanned and edited and is now ready to be sent to the printers, plus I started creating a few additional pieces I will be selling on etsy once I open shop. Scribbles for the short story collection are underway, and I mailed out five new queries to literary agencies (fingers crossed).  Notice I didn't say I actually snagged an agent, finished a painting, or wrote an entire story yet.  I'm thoroughly disappointed in myself.

• I did, however, begin collecting flotsam for my living room wall.  If you've known me long (or at least follow me on pinterest), you'll know I'm a bulletin board kind of girl.  I've decided to buy an especially large piece of cork board for the apartment, start pinning things in the upper left-hand corner, work my way down the wall, and see what I've got by the time we move back to the States in two years.  By then, I'm hoping it will be something of a paper-story, of sorts, about our lives in Denmark.

• So far, I've got some pen-and-ink doodles by yours truly, a paper crane or two, some misplaced pages from Where the Wild Things Are, a beach-themed wedding invitation, and a few photographs.  I'll keep you posted as the collection grows.

If you'd like to contribute (or feel you have a paper scrap that really belongs in Denmark), I'll supply you with my very funny Danish address, and you can send me all things paper (post cards, letters, book pages, magazine clippings, paint swatches, scribbles, origami, stamps, what-have-you).  You should know I simply love snail mail.  ♥

In summary, it was a downright decent month. 

So long, Mr. February.  It's been nice knowing ya.

p.s. how was your month?