Into the wild

A few days ago I returned to Cyprus after spending a week in Norway.  It was truly a gift from Sarah to be able to take some time out for solitude, rest and reflection.  Also to enjoy some fine cross country skiing in the mountains and forests of central Norway.   I stayed in a sparsely populated area about 30km from Lillehammer, and had to ski 10km to the nearest shop for supplies when needed (which the puritan in me loved).  It was a stunning area, with deep forests, frozen lakes and hundreds of kilometres of marked and unmarked cross country ski trails.  Norway served up suitably cold weather for the week; the thermometer did not get above -10 degrees for the entire time I was there, and the max temp last Wed was a barmy -18 degrees. It was snowing most days, but very still so was absolutely beautiful. Being mid-winter, the days were quite short but I was able to get out and ski for up to 30km each day.

There is something quite profound about the silence you experience when alone on cross country skis in the middle of a forest or high on a mountain range.   Coming from a job and family that is not exactly quiet and subdued, I think my body and mental state was in shock for the first few days as I was able to absorb and dwell in this silence!  After three years in my present role in Cyprus, and with a pending transition for us in 12 months time, it was a rare and precious opportunity to reflect and pray about all aspects of life, and to think about the future.

Whilst I was there I enjoyed reading the latest Tim Winton novel in the evenings, and in the mornings a book by Father Richard Rohr (a Franciscan priest) called Falling Upwards.  It's all about the 'two halves' of life; the first being the time when we consciously or unconsciously 'prove' ourselves through our work, and may feel driven to achieve or to provide, while the second half of life is the season where we are learning to surrender and let go, to fall with grace and realise that it's actually not about us at all.  It's a profound book which I've enjoyed reading a few times over the last few years, but never in the context of unbroken silence and reflection that I was able to enjoy this last week.  So this, combined with a daily re-run of the Australian soapie The Flying Doctors on Norwegian TV, provided my staple fodder for thought for the week!

I'm extremely thankful to Sarah for giving me the gift of this time, and I hope very much that she may be able to something similar during the year.

To finish with a brief quote from Father Rohr:

"How can I harbour the legitimate needs of the first half of life, while creating space, vision, time and grace for the second?  The holding of this tension is the very shape of wisdom."

The cave for the week

Not feeling the cold at all.....well maybe
just a little! In fact I think my face was
frozen when I took this picture!

The cave

...all made possible by the advent of 15 Euro fares from
Ryanair, direct from Cyprus to many destinations in
Europe including Norway!

Getting Back to Normal

Now that Mum & Dad are safely (and health-ily) on their way back to Australia, we begin to get back to normal.  The children are excited about having their own bedrooms again and I look forward to a few quiet days to myself (well, sort of).  Ross is currently in Norway having a "man holiday" which appears to involve pushing himself to the limits on cross country skis.  It's an awesome opportunity for him to take a break; and good timing too with the New Year getting under way.  It seems a bit surreal that this time next year we'll be on our way back to Sydney.  Every month we experience from here on in is a "last" for us in Cyprus so we'll be savouring every morsel and memory we can.

When I asked the children what they enjoyed about their grandparents stay:
Jessie said "playing Scrabble".
Angus said "more people in the house".
Sam said "hot chocolate with Mia" and "reading Fantastic Mr Fox with Mia".
Anna said "going to the cafe with Bo".
For me; it was simply having them here and sharing life with them for a time.
We weren't expecting such an eventful visit but, as they say, "all's well that end's well" and end well it did.  The funny bit came when saying goodbye to Dad at the airport and him apologising for having a heart attack.  That's what I call polite to the point of ridiculous.

It was interesting to have Mum & Dad here, commenting and noticing small things about life in Cyprus that I have come to accept as completely normal.  The way people drive, most people wearing black, the general lack of customer service ( I enjoyed a bit of clothes shopping with Mum), and the varied shop opening/closing times.  It was a bit of a shock when Dad was in hospital; the nurses don't do much of the 'personal care' with patients because they are so used to the whole family coming in and taking over.  Also, Dad was 'somewhat' amused when he heard a patient beside him in ICU playing a musical instrument!

Ahh...may the year continue smoother than it began.  As much as critical events are the spice of life, I don't mind NORMAL.

Jessie found these pictures taken in Cyprus: 

A mid-winter swim

Meaden and Bob at Konnos Beach

After our eventful Christmas, things have thankfully returned to a more normal rhythm over the past few weeks. Sarah's dad Bob is recovering well, Ross is back at work, and the kids have returned to school.  We enjoyed the final week of holidays together, and had a few day trips out including the Troodos mountains. some monasteries and the beach. Sarah and Meaden even managed to sneak in a short trip to Turkey, and were able to spend a few days and new year's eve in Istanbul. This was a rare opportunity for Sarah and Meaden to travel and spend some time together, and proved to be a good alternative to the originally planned mother/daughter sojourn to Beirut!

A feature of evenings during the school holidays was a regular showing of a Brady Bunch episode with the kids. It was fun to watch them discover a show that was such an institution as we were growing up.  Angus now takes great delight in singing the theme song at every opportunity, with some suitable (and not so suitable) word substitutions in the chorus (eg. the farting bunch).  Cutting-edge humour for a 9 year old......I'm sure you get the general idea!

The procession passes (but no elephants!)

Last weekend we took Bob and Meaden down to Agia Napa to watch the blessing of the waters. This is an annual ritual held in all coastal towns to mark the Epiphany, or baptism of Christ in the Jordan River. A procession marches through each coastal town carrying large icons, ceremonial artefacts and a small silver cross.  The cross  is blessed and thrown into the water after a Greek liturgy and Agnus Dei is sung by the priests.  Young men then dive in to find the cross, and the successful swimmer receives special honour and a blessing for the year to come.  The ritual is also significant for the fishing fleet, as it marks the time after which the boats can return to sea after the Christmas period.

We enjoyed watching the blessing of the waters, and it was good for Bob and Meaden to get out and enjoy some sunshine after a week of Bob's continued recovery at home. Anna was a little distracted throughout the ritual, however, as Jessie (in a typical teasing mode), said that the priests carrying the small silver cross to the harbour would be riding on elephants.  Consequently Anna spent the morning waiting for the elephants to appear, and asking us repeatedly when this would occur! After watching the blessing of the waters, we headed to one of our favourite bays for a lovely Cypriot lunch of halloumi and pita, and some of the braver members of the party even managed a swim.

Not a bad spot for some lunch!

Bob, making a good recovery

The Blue Mosque in Istanbul

Mother and daughter on the
loose in Istanbul!

New Years day in the Troodos Mountains

Could it be that Anna is actually feeling the cold?

Angus ready to strike.....

....and the return fire

A walk in the Troodos foothills

Macheras monastery

A brisk winter swim!

A memorable Christmas?

Well yes, but not necessarily for pleasant reasons!  On Christmas afternoon, Sarah's dad Bob went for a walk after lunch and came back to the house some minutes later complaining of bad chest pain.  Fortunately Sarah and her mum were able to quickly get him to a nearby hospital, and after an initial examination, he was transferred by emergency ambulance to the main hospital in Nicosia. Within an hour he was in surgery, and had a first operation to install a stent in a main heart artery and then a second operation in later on Christmas night after some recurrent chest pain. Both operations went well, and Bob then spent a few days in intensive care recovering before being transferred to a private hospital closer to our house.

During his time in hospital, Bob learned some of the finer points of the Cypriot health system, and no doubt wished he spoke more Greek!  Fortunately though, the standard of medical care in Cyprus is generally good and Bob has an excellent cardiologist here.  However it's unsettling to be in hospital in a foreign country, and we were very thankful to be able to welcome Bob back home a few days ago to continue his recovery.

As often is the case in these situations, a little bit of humour can help.  We all had a bit of laugh when the kids first went to visit Bob in hospital, and Anna's first question was to ask Bob how he broke his neck?  And then there was the situation as Bob was being discharged from the main hospital, and Meaden said that the nursing staff kept asking her about 'the pain'.  She was unaware what they were talking about, until someone held up a 20 Euro note, and she realised they were referring to 'the paying', and how would the bill be settled?  (perhaps pain and paying could be considered as the same thing!).  Fortunately some good travel insurance will take care of that one.

Bob is welcomed home!

So overall it was an unexpected series of events over Christmas, but Bob was very lucky that the heart attack occurred when it did, and not at some other point on their travels in Paris or even in Northern Cyprus.   He's now recovering well with us at home and will travel back to Australia a few weeks later than originally planned, sometime in the second half of January.  We will cherish the opportunity for some additional time together. Sarah and Meaden have even managed to sneak in a brief mother and daughter visit to Istanbul this week, which is a rare opportunity for them to spend some time together away from the noise and chaos of kids and home.

With Sarah and Meaden away, last night Bob, Zoe, myself and the kids sat around after dinner and shared some hopes for 2014.  Bob's hope was for good health, and with this we all definitely concur!  Happy New Year.

Happy New Year! 1st Jan 2014 in the Troodos Mountains