Days 19 – 23 (Wednesday - Sunday)

(Tina) It’s been harder to write details about each day lately since now it’s more of just living everyday Bali life. Wednesday morning greeted us with storm clouds so we didn’t get to go to the beach or the pool the last morning at the Westin. We hung out at the hotel enjoying the luxuries we don’t have at our Ubud house then headed out to see Uluwatu temple at the tip of Bali before heading back to Ubud. There were monkeys on the loose everywhere which freaked us out a little, and it was stinking hot so we didn’t stay long. Charlie and Sophie got to see their first “squatter toilet” but fortunately there was a regular one beside it that they could use (albeit backwards with no seat??).

I thought I’d miss the nice hotel more, but I actually felt a sense of being “home” when we got back to the house. Ketut was driving like a bat out of a bamboo wind chime [edited] to get us home before a huge storm came since there’s no escaping walking down the steep lane, rain or shine.

(Jim) I think the rain coincided with a low spot on our trip. Tina and I are getting a little tired of eating out at restaurants with the kids, constantly trying to keep them in line. We verbalized whether maybe we should have just gone for three weeks and if we should consider going back early. We have done and seen most of the “things” on our list by now. And the 24/7 family togetherness wears thin when the twins don’t feel the love for each other. When we got back to our house in Ubud and lay in bed Wednesday night, we agreed to stick it out. Going home early would feel like giving up, and this is an opportunity that doesn’t come around very often. Apart from pure tourism, maybe there was something left for us to learn as a family in this last week. I guess we just have to be patient and keep our minds open.

(Tina) We coincidentally received a long e-mail on Thursday from our New Zealand travelling companions from 15 years ago, Greg and Jane. They are taking steps that make our little four week vacation feel so simple! They have moved to a remote area of New Zealand as part of a small community practicing the “Continuum Concept” and living near self-sustainability, growing food, milking cows, trading services for things they can’t grow themselves. The Continuum Concept is a parenting book that I need to learn more about, but seems to be of the same vain as some of the basic philosophies we try to follow: treating our children with respect, not ruling over them or disregarding their feelings, but not catering to them or letting them rule us either. Being reminded of that was especially helpful at this time with all the bickering the twins have been doing because we had resorted to repeated time outs which were obviously not working. After reading about their journey, I was able to take a step back, take a breath, and not let the kids’ moods affect mine so much. Whether they really got better or not, it felt instantly better to me (that day anyway). It’s kind of ironic that my kids are at each other’s throats and I’m going to be leading a “Siblings Without Rivalry” workshop when we get back. Oh well, I’m not supposed to be the shining example, just facilitating the conversation, so I’ll be learning right along with everyone else.

This is the first we’ve experienced the “rainy season” since we’ve been here. The rain starts without much warning and falls so hard that it hurts. Thunder and lightning rattle us to our core. The kids like to say that the thunder is Grandma Mickey, Grandpa John, and Uncle John in heaven bowling strikes. Now instead of crying in fear when they hear a big boom, they yell “STRIKE!” The rain has wreaked havoc on the pool since it is practically chemical free to begin with. We haven’t been swimming in a few days because it looks kind of murky. One of the lizards didn’t mind though because the kids saw it taking a swim through the pool one day. We had joked that there was a sea monster in the pool, but who knew there really would be?!

We have been spending our remaining days doing some shopping for ourselves and others. There are so many beautiful handmade things here, it’s hard to decide what to get. Bargaining is challenging too. It’s hard not to get wrapped up in getting the best deal and then you realize you are debating about 50 cents. The money is about 10,000/1, so Eliot has learned how to take off four zeros to see how many dollars things cost. They thought they were rich when we gave them each a 1,000 rupiah bill until Eliot figured out that it was only really worth a dime. His math skills sure aren’t suffering during this time away from school.

I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I’m actually looking forward to cooking dinner everyday again. We’ve cooked dinner for ourselves a few times and it’s been nice. Service is always really good at restaurants but sometimes things come very slowly. Friday night we were going to see the Kecak and Fire dance again and convince Eliot to nap that day so he wouldn’t fall asleep again, but dinner took so long that we missed it. Eliot said, “Man! I napped for nothing!” We went for dessert afterwards and stayed up late playing Yahtzee as a consolation prize. Fortunately there are dances around here every night, so we’ll get the chance to catch it again. Sunday night we saw the Legong dance which wasn’t as exciting as the others, but we were still fascinated by the costumes and strange movements. Eliot drew a beautiful picture of the “Bird of Paradise” dancer.

Jim, Charlie, Sophie, and I all had massages this weekend. Eliot didn’t want one so we went at different times and different places. Maybe we’ll squeeze another one in this last week. The healing powers of Balinese massage are not to be missed.