On the Virtues of Breaking Routine

We are a family of routine.  Young children generally thrive on routine and this is very, very true of the four children we have brought into this world.  Our little world in Utah runs predictably every day, every week, every month.  Please note that many things happen which put us out of sort--life is rarely perfect without interuptions, but for the most part we wake up at the same time everyday, play the same things, eat the same things, go the same places, practice the same instruments and hobbies, watch the same shows, and have the same struggles day in and day out.  So, we do believe familiar routine works well for us.  However, after one full week out of our normal routine with three more weeks to go, I am finding the virtues of changing the routines, stretching our norms and venturing out into this beautiful world.

-  It's healthy and good to eat new things.  Yes, we eat yogurt in America, but to change the brand of yogurt from the only one the family has eaten for the past 6 years is a big deal to this family, and here in France no one says, "Hey, this is not the kind of yogurt you usually buy!"  They are willing to try....and even like, something new!  (Okay, this trip has been worth it already.)

-  It's good to realize that you do not need to jump out of bed at 4:59 a.m. every morning to get your beloved chocolate milk (I swear there is an addiction.) and turn on your favorite dinosaur show.  You can sleep in a bit and perhaps when you wake up draw pictures in your new sketch pad from Papa & Grammie.

-  It's good to not have the TV available to remind your children and even yourself that reading is a wonderful, relaxing, even enjoyable past time.

-  It's good to take a break from the instruments that you chose and have loved, to remind you why you chose them and that you do love to play them.  (And to remind a mom why she sits in the music room 1+ hours each morning to facilitate practice.)

-  It's good to worship in a new building, with people you have never met before, in a language you can barely make out, to focus on the sacrament, the spirit and Christ's love.

-  It's good to leave behind the weeding, the dusting, the vaccuming and it's liberating to stick to the basics of feeding your family 3 meals a day in a tiny kitchen with a fraction of the gadgets you are used to, and doing one load of laundry each night and hanging the clothes to dry each morning.  (I still do have to remind people about bed making and picking up after one's self....)

-  It's good to sleep more, ponder more, excercise less and not be rushed to be somewhere at an exact time.

-  It's so good to take things slowly.  To see what you feel like doing.

-  It's so very good to just focus on each other and the beauties of another culture, art and history.

Today that's exactly what we did.  We planned to leave St. Aignan around 10:15, but actually left at 11:00 or so. We visited another picturesque castle, Chenonceau (shen-o-so).  Much to our surprise, the weather continues to be cooler than we had ever expected.  It is preferred to sweating, but we do expect it to warm up a bit in the next few weeks and will enjoy a good dose of vitamin D.

I am writing this post and eating more chocolate as everyone else in the family takes a needed nap or reads.  See, I am really liking this break in routine!

Thomas, Jacob & Grace sit a top one of the two sphinx which great us at the entrance of Chenonceau.

Chenonceau is the "Crown Jewel of the Loire Valley."  It is literally built spanning over the river.

We voted this the Best Mote of all of the Chateaux's thus far.

A curious lady who captured our attention.

The children played a life size game of chess in the ball room which spans the width of the river!    
They were cracking us up as they pretended to be knights, bishops, queens, castles, pawns and kings...killing each other.

I've got to get a kitchen like this castle,  complete with a brick oven.

More water servant girl!
Emme on the other hand decided she could live in this castle as a princess
and then asked if there were any L.D.S. princes or castles in America.