Gray Days

The day remained gray, right until the end, never brightening beyond the twilight.  While I meant what I said, that we have had a happy first few months at our new post in Berlin, it has been a struggle against the dark.  Evenings are the hardest for me. Perhaps it is the combination of several hours of dark since mid-afternoon, which makes me feel like curling into bed and hibernating (hiding?), and the frantic stress of the supper-time/homework nexus of anxiety.  I simply cannot slip away nor do I have the energy to cope.  Those are the dark days, inside and out, and sunny Zambia with help in the house and minimal homework (homeschooling) and late afternoon horse riding seems like a distant dream.  I used to wonder how people could live so differently in different places.  Given how differently I live in different countries, I am now astounded that our differences aren't even greater than they are.

Regarding who has won my time today (haus frau, knitting bandita or exercise fanatic), well, none of the above had a decisive win.  It has been a bit of this and bit of that day: toilets cleaned (but no showers/tubs scrubbed), floors vacuumed (but not mopped), laundry washed (but not folded), a jog (but all too short) and knitting advanced (but nothing completed).  The only bit of excitement was when I managed to lock myself out when I went for my run.  Happily, I managed to break back in to the house despite the almost constant police presence on our street.  I better tighten the screws on that screen.