the sun is out...and some random thoughts

It was a great day for a walk  today, so I cradled baby in my Tricot Slen and off we went to join Dad and Bugey at the nearby park. 

You might wonder how it was even possible for us to do this on a Tuesday,  at a time of the day where every other parent was probably still at work, or kids were just on their way home from school.
I'd say everything just fell together -- my status as a paid doctoral student with loose working hours, being in a city in Belgium where parks abound and you can just walk to them from your place,  living in an apartment that's just five minutes away from your son's school, and finally, the Belgian summer sun deciding to come out.

At the park, there was this young Asian guy watching over his daughter while she played. It was easy to tell that he was also an international student of the university, with the pile of papers and markers on the bench where he sat.  I thought to my self,  not everyone can be as lucky as this guy and me.

My professor once said that for me there is no better time to start a family here in Belgium than now. And I couldn't agree more. This is the time of our children's lives when they need our attention, our youth and playfulness. And I feel so blessed that we have this time for them.

This is why Lakay  would always assure me that he never considered it a loss on his part to come to Belgium and put his career on hold. When we go home to the Philippines, we know that we will have to pay for all those years by starting all over again. 

But I know that all we need to do to make it through would be to go back to days like this and try to remember the smiles we put on our children's faces. 

And then we will be reminded again that the four years we spent here was like winning a million Euros in the lotto. Not everyone can be as lucky as we are. And for that, I am humbled and will forever be grateful.