Sink or swim

In the end, all you have to remember is how to swim.

Sometimes life can be overwhelming, confusing and downright painful, but as long as it gets dark at the end of every day and the sun rises again the next morning, nothing they throw at me is too much. Yes, it's a lot to deal with, but one way or the other I'll manage to face it, conquer it and move past it. This doesn't mean it's easy, nor does it mean I'm capable of actually doing it, but I'm good at thinking it through and putting it in writing. We all deal with things our own way and this is mine. I'm sticking with the decisions I've made, whether they are right or wrong (which is a matter of opinion anyway). 

I've decided to swim rather than drown. Drowning isn't fun, though I don't like swimming either. No-one ever told me how exhausting it is to swim for such a long time, and it's getting cold in the deep and dark waters. I'm waiting for that deserted island to pop up in the (not too far) distance, a warm and comfy place where I can sit back, relax and catch my breath again. The one thing I need to beware of is not getting too comfortable on this island, even if it seems to have everything I need in order to survive. Sometimes looks can be deceiving, and when something looks too good to be true; it usually is. Don't want to get thrown in to the water again, there might be sharks out there ... 

The power of simplicity

A lot has happened the past few weeks. I moved out of the house and back in with my parents, which isn't the ideal situation but it's a quick solution to the on-going problem. I wished it could've been solved differently, but for now it will do. This week the bank has given us the document we needed in order to put the house up for sale, so it looks like we're finally making some progress again.

And what else am I to do on a sunny Saturday afternoon other than browsing through (old) photos, and being amazed why I hadn't realized before how big I'd gotten?! I was pretty huge, to say the least. Shocking! Something else what's quite shocking was the emotions I felt while looking at these pictures, and all of a sudden I came up with a quote:

"When memories are fading it doesn't mean they're not worth remembering, it just means I'm making space for new experiences to be stored on my hard drive."

Just this morning I was thinking about wanting to come up with a quote to share with others, but I didn't have any inspiration and my mind was blank. And then the above popped in to my head, which I considered worth sharing. And it says a lot actually because I have an incredible ability to remember, so it's like my hard drive can store 4 terabyte and there's really no need to be forgetting things, but I've decided to move them to the back anyway. There's no use in looking back anymore, though I treasure the memories and the experiences, it's time to make space for new ones. Besides, it motivates me to keep saying 'yes' to invites 'cause what's the fun of an empty hard drive anyway? 

My life in pictures: July

Thanks to my parents our balcony is ready to impress potential buyers. 

Too bad we never put in the effort ourselves to make it look nice, sit down and enjoy it...

During the daily ride on my bike I pass this flowerfield and it just makes me happy.

This little kid reminded me of how I spent a lot of time with my grandmother when I was growing up. She used to drive me and my sister around town on her bike, but it felt save behind her back, trying to wrap my little arms around her. Perhaps I should give her a call...

I'm in doubt whether or not I will get a cat when I've got my own place. She's such a beauty!

Went shopping in Amsterdam with a friend / colleague. Our mission: shoes. 

At the end the only thing I bought was a pair of skinny jeans. Mission failed.

It has started!

The season we've all been waiting for has finally arrived: summer! As far as I'm concerned, this season couldn't start soon enough so I am as happy as can be. Yesterday I woke up rather early to get the things done I normally do on a Saturday, and afterwards got myself comfortable on the balcony: soaking up the sunshine, working on my tan and getting some (well-deserved) rest. What a way to spend a Saturday! I love it!

Fingers crossed it's going to be a lovely, sunny, warm, exciting and long summer: I'm ready!

Above and beyond.

So, the first season of salsa lessons has come to an end. It were ten fun weeks of learning something new, meeting new people and moving out of my comfort zone. Must say: so far, so good. Though I was really nervous during the first introduction class, I felt at ease rather quickly and each lesson it became more fun because I got more confident with the dance and the people. Only at the beginning of the classes I was reminded of the fact that I didn't have a partner, as we all had to make couples and often me and another girl (now a sort of friend, actually) were the last ones standing.

Just because I like it so much and want to learn more on how to become a better dancer, I've already signed up for the next season, starting August 30th. Can't wait! But in order to get through the summer I've also decided to sign up for a course on bachata dancing. To be honest: this is more my cup of tea. How I love to dance real close to my guy... It's already my thing on a regular night out, so why not take some classes and be able to give it a name? Next time a guy is freakin' out (though I can't recall last time this happened) because I'm bumping and grinding, I can say 'don't worry, it's called bachata. Look it up on the Internet.'
Yeah, I got my dirty moves all covered.