Slowing Down from a Slow Life

Slowing Down from Slow
May 17, 2007

There hasn’t been much to write about this week as I am here at Quinta da Mata with Duarte’s parents and the kids while Duarte is filling the days and nights entertaining his American kayaking buddies. They are having a great time but I rarely see them. My own activity has slowed even more. Spending the days here, I have time to play with the kids, read, write, take naps and exercise if I feel like it instead of collecting experiences as Duarte and I have been doing since our arrival. I am enjoying the more relaxed pace.

The weather has changed from cool to hot. The dry air and the strong rays from the sun seem to absorb all moisture. My skin is dry, the air is dry, the ground is parched and cracking. We need to avoid the afternoon heat so we seek the cool, cave-like interior of this grand house. On the patio, the kids splash in the baby pool and spray each other with water. They are entertained for long stretches of time with such idol play.

Bright red cherries weigh down the branches of the cherry trees that line the long driveway that leads to Quinta da Mata. We have been taking walks to eat the sweet fruit right off the trees. There are no chemicals used here. At this time of year the flowers are still flourishing around Quinta da Mata and the fruit from the varying fruit trees are at different stages of development. I think that the figs will soon be ready to eat and then the pears. The pear trees grow along side the swimming pool and drop fruit from their branches into the cool water allowing us a chilled snack while we play in the water.

Marcos has had some sort of stomach virus for a couple of days – so when he is feeling bad, he lies around and watches movies or sleeps. It is difficult to see him sick but he is very snuggly when he is needy. When he is feeling good, he is up and bounding around. He loves to play with Duarte’s friends at breakfast time. I think Marcos thinks he is big and cool like “the guys.”

Jenna is wild these days. Her personality is being revealed a little bit more each day. She is vain in that she is very proud of her appearance- showing everyone who walks by her shirt or her shoes and relishing in their responses. She is strong as she marches right out the back door of the house and walks with her sturdy little legs down a steep rocky road and then up another all the way to see the sheep…”meehing” as she goes. She makes sure that she gets everything Marcos gets. If he drinks a juice then she must have one too. She will go as far as to steel his cookies if she doesn’t get her own. Though Jenna doesn’t speak, there is little doubt what she wants and what she doesn’t want. I am surprised by the strength of her will.

There is a lot of hustle and bustle around Quinta da Mata as each weekend approaches. There are wedding receptions every Saturday and Sunday that start early in the afternoon and go into the wee early morning of the following day. Preparation for the weddings begins on Thursday with many employees coming and going. On the day of the wedding, there are large platters mounded with food that pass in and out the doors heading toward or from the garden where the big receptions take place. I love all of the activity. Though it is crazy to be in the middle of it all, I feel the energy of so many people doing what they need to be doing. Some people are carving incredible fruit structures, others arranging platters of appetizers, some waiting tables, strong men heaving suckling pigs into the giant wood fired ovens. Live music fills the air and there is of course the general festivity that accompanies all weddings. Duarte and I were married here and I always re-live that perfect day as I peer into the garden to see the beautiful party. Best of all, the abundance of food is always shared with us. We sit on the patio away from the wedding and the employees passing through like to spoil us by handing us a platter of shrimp or lobster, bottles of wine, indulgent cheeses and desserts. I love it.

There are so many ways to spend a day or to spend a week or to spend 6 months. I am content that I am living the way that I want to live while I am in Portugal. I don’t have any regrets. There are many visitors that come to stay at this Bed and Breakfast. I enjoy talking with them if they speak English. It seems that when people are on vacation, they take time to slow down and ponder their existence or to take advantage of the distance vacation brings to their lives as they consider why they are caught up in the incredible momentum of work and other responsibilities. It is interesting for me to hear that people from every culture feel squeezed of energy. Everyone feels that they work too hard and have too little time for themselves and their families. It’s a human condition – but Why? I’ve spent the last 5 months thinking about this and I don’t have any explanation or answers. The best that I can come up with at this time is to look for the good in each moment and savor the things that make you happy. There is not a perfect life but there is a good life and that can only be found when perfection is not sought. Sometimes there are only good moments and sometimes that’s enough.