View this post on Instagram Sending a virtual shout out to the eight or so people on the street this morning who took the time, during my short stroll to my local coffee shop, to make eye contact, smile and wish me a warm and well-meaning 'buenos dias'. #Kindness costs nothing, and #friendliness can be an absolute game-changer when it comes to brightening someone’s day – on this occasion it certainly cheered me right up! Who fancies joining me in a hip hip hooray and a whoop whoop in honour of all the friendly, kind-hearted people out there? Don’t be…
Browsing CategoryLife abroad
Treehouse truths
View this post on Instagram So, with week 1 of the summer holibobs behind us, I’m happy to report: we survived! Ok, truth be told, there was the small detail of a summer camp involved which might well have saved our proverbial bacon.🐷 But in all honesty, I can actually offer up that particular nugget of info with relatively low-level Mummy guilt. The camp, an ‘unschooling’ shindig based on a beautiful mountain-fringed, 2000 or so squared metre ranch on the rural outskirts of San Miguel, meant that the kiddos whiled away their mornings frolicking in the fresh air, riding horses,🐎…
Monday motivation: the benevolent bus driver
Hmm…Mondays, eh! I have to admit I woke up this morning with a face and mood somewhat akin to this rather grumpy-looking pooch (an old furry friend from our Panama days; as I’m sure you can imagine, finding a fellow countryman to hang out with on occasion as I tried to find my feet in a foreign land was a real treat!) What with Halloween, followed by all the Day of the Dead excitement, last week was packed to the rafters with activities, outings and social get-togethers for our little crew, and whilst I’m normally quite a fan of the…
Mindfulness & Mexican culture with kids
View this post on Instagram The little man's pre-school #diademuertos 'ofrenda' (altar) commemorating Mexico's recent #earthquake victims. Love how kids here are encouraged to practice #mindfulness and #gratitude from the get-go, carving out time to remember, respect and pay tribute to those who've passed away, but who brought so much joy and happiness to others. This way of looking at death – as a celebration of the life that was, rather than a mourning of all that's lost – is definitely one of the highlights of this culture that has so much to offer, and a tradition we hope to…
A splash of colour (and life’s other simple pleasures)
View this post on Instagram This is one of the more simple tombstone flower arrangements we saw on Thursday during our visit to the local cemetery for Mexico's #dayofthedead celebrations, and not really representative of the grandiose scale of intense colour, artwork and high jinks to be savoured in town over the past couple of days – yet for some reason, it's one of my favourite pictures from this oh so festive and uplifting time. In part, the bright, warm colours gave my heart a little boost, but beyond that, I think the unshowy and small-ish but perfectly formed bouquet…