April Showers to Merry May

My April Summary

Disclaimer: this has been another one of those months wherein you get to the end of it and despite the fact that you felt recklessly busy the entire time, you can’t for the life of you remember what you were doing all month.  So you write about it in lists (in no particular order):

1) Age-Wise: My 26^th birthday.  I am officially in my late twenties, and it feels remarkably like my early twenties.  In fact, some mornings I wake up and I still think I’m nineteen.  I’m much more excited about turning 27 next year, as 26 isn’t a very interesting number and ever since I was a kid, I thought 27 simply must be The Perfect Age.  I have no idea why.

2) Creative-Wise: Scribbled some he saids, she saids for the short story collection I keep saying I’m writing (and at some point I really will make headway on this); published 20 blog posts (not bad for a 30-day month) and got offered a few free-lance opportunities (yay!); sent the children’s book to three new agencies (speaking of, do you remember my recent blog post about The Few, The Proud, The 238 Would-Be Authors?  Well, we are actually being featured in the May/June issue of Hollywood & Vine.  I am all astonishment); finished a few watercolor/prismacolor originals that will soon be posted on Etsy.  Speaking of Etsy …

3) Etsy-Wise: I know I promised to set up shop by the end of April, but there was a bit of a hiccup with the printers so the official opening date is being bumped to mid-May (and IT IS happening in mid-May).  I finally got the prints back in the mail and they look lovely (and here’s a little sneak peek of sorts: I will be hosting a post-card giveaway to launch the opening).  I’m also thinking of self-publishing the picture book via LuLu and listing it on Etsy as well; what do you think?

4) Isaac-Wise: Isaac started preschool (technically he started in May, but it’s only May 3^rd today so it’s still practically April).  As you may recall, he was recently accepted into a preschool that is five minutes walking distance from our apartment (not to mention right off the route I take when out running).  The preschool is located in a big house (complete with the short-people toilets and a pillow room - what else), as well as a huge, fenced-in playground.  The kids are split up into different groups named after animals.  Isaac is a Seal (not going to ask why).  He has his own little cubby to keep his things, with a photo of him making his signature Mr. Bean face (facepalm).  

Yup.  That’s my kid.                 

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... And now I'm going to take a little tangent called Isaac In Preschool:

The staff was a bit worried he’d have trouble in the beginning, seeing as the only Danish words he’s been known to say are ‘nej’ (pronounced nigh, which he uses interchangeably with ‘no’ so it sounds like “NO NO NO NO NEJ NEJ NEJ NEJ!” and naturally makes me want to quote Monty Python: Did you just say ‘nej’ to that old woman?), and the word for dinosaur (he walked straight up to the librarian and asked her, in Danish, to play with the Pleo dinosaur on her desk.  Of course, we hadn’t a clue what he said, but she understood him perfectly.)  Little did they know, Isaac is not your typical, shy, run-of-the-mill toddler.  On our first visit, he pretended like he didn’t know us and screamed when we had to leave.  He doesn’t need parents anymore, you understand.  I’ve become superfluous. 

In fact, I’ve already been replaced by kid named Wilhelm.  They hit it off great until Isaac made him play taxi-driver while he rode on the back of the tricycle cab.  It took about fifteen minutes for little Wilhelm to notice he was getting the short end of the stick, after which he promptly resigned.  I also made a little friend.  For whatever reason, she decided I looked like the person who should be holding all discarded socks and stockings.    

Despite Wilhelm having replaced me and all, I'm supposed to go with Isaac the first few times and sort of ease him into the new regime.  It’s going swimmingly.  When all the kids sat in a circle and shared their names round-robin style, Isaac said, “It’s private,” and then started singing his bus song.  Only now it’s a bus and pirate song.  “No no no, bus a bus, no no no, A PIRATE!”  (I used capitals so you can imagine him yelling the last bit, as is his habit.)  If they think he’s going to get more normal, they’re wrong.
     

Next week we’ll go every morning at 9 a.m. and I’ll pick him up at 1 or 2 p.m., depending on my work schedule and leaving plenty of time for home-schooling (because I’m determined to have him reading by the time we move back to the States).  I’m told that I will also be setting up after-school play dates (the extent of my knowledge concerning play dates is from The Nanny Diaries.  You know, the scene wherein they have a gigantic food fight using colored icing.  So, count me in.)  I also noticed while walking back yesterday that most of the other kids live in our neighborhood, and we take the same route home.  (Just think of all the potential babysitters living next door to me!)
     

In keeping with a whole week of new experiences, I had my very first parent-teacher meeting.  In Danish.  I dutifully pretended to understand so the other parents wouldn’t think I was a moron.  I even laughed at all the right moments.  I might have pulled it off, too, if the head of the preschool (who looks remarkably like Judi Dench, come to think of it), hadn’t turned to me at the very end and said, “Don’t worry, I will email you a copy of the notes so you can translate them into English.”  And there went my fine attempt to be just like all the other parents (as opposed to how I really feel, like a kid pretending to be an adult.  What’s that quote by Margaret Atwood?  “Everyone else my age is an adult, whereas I am merely in disguise.”)
     

So far, the only relevant information I know is that there are a lot of Danish holidays coming up, Monday is the day your kid brings a toy for show and tell (and I hope they’re very patient people because Isaac will probably bring a toilet paper tube every week,  seeing as that is currently his “toy” of choice), and Friday is the day to bring a bike.  Also I need to buy rain gear and a bike.
      

It feels somewhat like the end of an era.  My kiddo is growing up (as quickly as a short person can).  And he seems to be loving it immensely.  

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5) Travel-Wise: We took a ferry to Sweden (you can read about it here).  This makes the eighth country I’ve ever visited (and yes I am including the four-hour layover in the Barcelona airport because even though I didn’t step outside it felt like I was there for half-a-century).  I hope to almost double this number by the time I move back home, but we’ll see.  I also hope to spend much more time on ferries.  All that free sunshine and cheap beer, can’t think of a reason to stay away.

6) Bulletin-Wise: Here’s a somewhat recent photo of the bulletin board.  Notice the gorgeous Fair Trade dream-catcher Tim bought for me as a mid-week no-reason kind of gift (the best kind):

Disclaimer: if you can’t spot something you sent me, it’s because I haven’t pinned everything up yet.  For everyone else: if you’ve got a paper scrap you think belongs in Denmark, I’ll trade you my address for it, pin it up, and post it in next month’s update!  Also, I almost always write back.

7) Danish-Wise: I think I prefer Offengloffish.  I’m much more fluent in it, after all.  Offand offif yoffou doffon’t knoffow whoffat offit offis, toffoo boffad foffor yoffou.  Tim, of course, is picking up Danish like a pro, but then what else is new.  He picked up Spanish, Chinese, and Italian in a matter of weeks so why not Danish?  In fact, he didn't even take Italian I.  He just skipped to Italian II.  Not to mention our little bout in the Elvish language.  Don't ask.

8) Other-Wise: I took up a new hobby.  Trimming split ends with teeny tiny scissors.  (No one ever said hobbies had to be enjoyable.)  Apparently my hair is suffering from the continual weather changes and the generous lime deposits in our water.  My mother used to trim her split ends in the car on really long road-trips and I always thought it must be the most boring way on earth to pass the time.  And now I know.  It really is.  

… So that was April.  On to the merry month of May!  A month of sunshine, travel, and hopefully Breyer’s mint chocolate chip ice cream.

How was your April?