I did it again. Made an inventory of what was definitely coming. Posted pictures of whatever I wanted sell, followed a few weeks later by more posts, this time in a slightly more frenzied manner. I went on patrol to local stores for used boxes. I secretly gave away my daughter’s unfavorite toys.

I have been very quiet lately. I haven’t posted a journal entry since I don’t know when. My social feeds have gained no new followers. My program outlines are not any closer to complete.

There’s a good reason for my silence: I just returned from four weeks in the United States visiting my family. It looked a lot like this.

A mama friend recently was visiting for a double playdate. We drank kava kava tea and talked in staccato conversations, interrupted every 10 minutes by our children who were about to kill themselves or each other. At one of the many points in the afternoon, I got up and saved my daughter from a near-death situation. I did it like I do it most of the time, addressing the behavior in clear words and redirecting her.

“You have the patience of a saint,” my friend told me when I joined her at the table again.

I laughed out loud. No one has ever described me like that. But reader, these days, it’s true.