simple time

We have a fairly busy life, that is to say, pretty normal for families of today. I have a love/hate relationship with it. I love all the activity and doing new things, but need some balance and simplicity.

The hard part is that, when we don't have something planned to do, it's sometimes hard to come up with something fun to do that doesn't end up with the kid watching a video (which they love and always want to default to).

Last night, the stars aligned. We seized one of the last opportunities to build a fire. The kids love gathering sticks and crinkling paper and helping me light the fire. We brought dinner into the living room and everyone are super pleasantly. After dinner, Rafa wanted to play chess (???) with Papi, so Papi patiently sat with him. I played the piano a little. Sylvia and Oscar mostly entertained themselves, sometimes bringing instruments to play along with me. It was lovely. We read, we relaxed, we enjoyed being together. It was lovely. It also helps that there were minimal screams and tears, for whatever reason. Like I said, the stars aligned.