Mietzke's POST Holden Adventure

The village if filled to the brim and overflowing with people. Sometimes I feel lost in the sea of new faces as I seek out the familiar. This week has been rewarding and tiring. A lot of work was accomplished and it was amazing to see how many people are dedicated to making Holden a better place. There are many families up here now and lots of new playmates for the kids, but we haven't quite figured out how to be a family in the midst of all of the commotion. We have twelve people staying in our chalet, luckily all of them kind thoughtful people that make this transition feel good, but it is difficult to find those moments of alone time where no one is around and you can relax into being. The faces are still new and the get to know you conversations are interesting and fun, and sometimes a little bit of quiet or familiar goes a long way. All of this is such a contrast to the winter with its quiet intimate connections. Although I can see why summer is so magical for so many, the adjustment and letting go that it requires to make the transition is hard and tiring. The vespers service starts at seven thirty every night which makes getting the kids to bed in a timely fashion difficult. We are still trying to find our sea legs, so to speak and figure out a rhythm that works for our family. How do you meet and interact with new people every day and still invest in the relationships you have. It is a little bit like tight rope walking.
My family has let me know in no uncertain terms that I have not found the balance yet, but I am still imperfectly striving. Our friends Joy and Emily are in the village and staying in our chalet, which has been a lot of fun. Yesterday Dave and I brought up some old mattresses from the basement and set them out on the porch and hung fabric to make a little porch tent, because staying in the girls room was feeling cramped and sleeping on a hill makes for a lot of rolling. We hung up the fabric and brought out our sleeping bags and had a lovely sleep on the porch last night. I wrote a poem about it and you should stop reading if poetry is not your thing.

Porch Sleeping

We made a makeshift tent on the porch today with blankets and old mattresses.
We created a little space where we could be together
private, yet still a part of it all
We put the children to sleep in their beds and then snuggled up in blue sleeping bags surrounded by mosquito netting
It took a while to settle in as we listened to the sounds of a village that was preparing for rest
As we lay there a breeze lifted the fabric up and over our heads in a breathing pattern giving small glimpses of the sky and setting a rhythm that began to lull me to sleep as I snuggled warm in my husbands arms
The sounds of the village blended with the rustling of tree leaves in the wind and the scurrying sounds of animals
A guitar was playing off in the distance notes carried on the breeze
Stragglers walked up the hill quietly talking the last of many to head off to bed after a long day
Laughter broke the silence standing on its own in the darkness
Each of these things I took with me into sleep
the people and this place that I love giving me a little bit of the peace I had been craving all day long.
Sometimes there are prolonged moments in time that make all the little hardships of the day feel worth the effort
And fill you with a deep sense of belonging that carries into your dreams.