Bonne Fete des Meres

Today is Mothers' Day in America.  We of course are celebrating it here in France which seems a bit strange but hey, I am taking what I can get.  The actual date of French Mothers' Day is May 31st and you betcha I will celebrate that one too!  After all, we went through the torture of getting the little monkey adjusted into the French public school system you bet I will milk that mothers day gift and day for all it is worth.  

All kidding aside, when you are so far away you take stock in what you have, your supportive family network back home, and you also grab on even more tightly to the family you have around you regardless of the fun you are having. :) 

One of the most important things in my life is my little monkey and although she thinks I am a bit looney sometimes and doesn't really understand what Mothers Day is quite yet, I know I am her number one fan and she is mine.

Happy Mothers' Day to my momma and momma in law and all the other mommas out there. May you feel as blessed as I feel.

Contradictions

The Dutch are well-known for their tolerance and socially liberal policies. Where else is drug use and prostitution legal, right? 

Which makes it all the more confusing to me to see the rigor with which they uphold their traffic laws. They will obey the pedestrian lights as if violating them carried a sentence of life imprisonment. It's common to see Dutch people waiting patiently for 3 or 4 minutes, no traffic in sight, for their little green man to appear and assure them it's OK to cross the street. Tired of standing there, several times I made a common sense decision to just cross the street when safe and they looked at me like I had punted a crying baby into the bushes.

But smoking crack while renting a hooker? No problem.