Transition time

We are in between summer and winter. September is always gone away quickly; pulling out the summer as much as possible, busy with the school start. October is about Halloween and its preparations, attunement for autumn, delicious dishes. And then comes November that is usually an under evaluated month. November is the silent entrance hall of a new start. It is neither about spectacular starts, nor about big ambitions. It is rather a transition from the light to the darkness, from the external fizzling into the inner calm. While the nature steps aside, trees fall their leaves, we feel that it is high time to arrange, to let go, to resolve. Slowly, knowingly, honestly.  So this month is about inner work and systematization requiring deceleration, introspection before we get on the Christmas express. We have to decide not only what to present to whom for Christmas but also think through what worked in our lives this year and want to keep for the next year and what we have to let go.

Honestly, I fret and distress myself a lot recently, waste much time on thinking of the unprocessed past and the distracting present. 

Summer 2025

This summer no special destination was planned. We had some really short vacations locally, just within the border, and some habitual and new engagements.

In June, I had some field events throughout the country. In Hegyfalu, Nolen was with me and proved to be a great help at putting together the gifts, to distributing them at the registration, and also at the packing with the agronomist guys in the end. He really enjoyed the feeling of the event and being useful. Another habit of us is to invite Noémi, my cousin's daughter to stay a couple of days with us. We have some habitual engagement like Palatinus strand in the middle of the Margaret island approaching by buggy, climbing up to the hills, and this year we had the procession at that time and we also was looking for the mini sculptures of Kolodko in the downtown by scooter. Nolen had his first mulett style haircut. He attended even two summer camps: one was a swimming camp and the other was a farm camp with full of animals, together with Noel.

In July, we had a brilliant marketing team building in Mártély. Nolen spent his very very last week in the nursery. A magnificient and sooo memorable 4S Street concert highlighted this month in Szigliget castle at Lake Balaton where the sunset and the monadnocks were in the background at the same time. We had a big big party for the kids' birthday, as Dominik turned 18. Ex father-in-law made many programs with his granchild Nolen. We organized the habitual sisters with kids short family vacation at Sebes Körös, where of course my SUP was a compulsory part. I had some cycling tours like around Lake Tisza (70 km) and to Etyek and back (50 km). We have visited Nolen's early childhood health supervisor for the last time. Tooth Fairy visited him for the first time twice - although, those two teeth had to be removed forced by the doctor as they were not moving at all and the new ones were already coming, growing in the wrong place.

In August, we had a memorable meteor shower seen from the Hármashatárhegy with Nolen, where we brought a tent and slept there and were witness of a fox coming quite close to us and the sunset on the next morning. Me and both kids were experienced a special floating house at Lake Tisza as accomodation. The best part was to eat breakfast on the small balcony on the water while swans were around us. Our National Holiday, 20/AUG, was spent with my cousin coming from the countryside. Finally, we could go into the Parliament for the first time in my life. Regarding the fireworks on the same evening, just to remind everyone, forget the Batthyány square as a view point for fireworks. It was a real nightmare because of the crowd. 

Dominik 18

Can't believe that my elder son already reached the full age and entered the adult section. Still learning and does not have the exact idea what he really would like to do in the future. The outcome of this school (system administrator) seems not the most attractive walk of life for him. He excels in English and completed early graduation with great results. Thank God, he is still trouble free, avoids conflicts. Real gen Z, with all characteristics of his generation. What makes my hair stands on end is his dining. He eats very little, quite inordinately, mostly in the evenings which comes from the fact that lives the other way round mostly in summer - when we are awake, he sleeps.

NOLEN 7

My sweet little one or my little sweetie at the age of 7 is vibrant, full of life. Brave, daring, smart and tricky. Speaks a lot, constantly, he has to tag something to everything. He is exaggerated in his feelings, can manifest well how he feels. What made my hair stands on end is that he is willing to carry a huge and heavy backpack everytime to everywhere when he leaves the house. He's always packing up his things, his knick-knackery into a bag till over full and sometimes he even does not know what is inside at the bottom of it, just carrying steadily. At least he is training for the school. 

Really untirable - but we have to be careful with this as he needs the sufficient number of sleeping hours. He eats very well, much better and bigger portions than his bro and he is not choosy. Still likes to get dressed in different customes and to wear accessories. He proved his self-dependence during this summer as well: he attended even two summer camps and managed very well and went everyday with pleasure.

Spring running events

 End of April, beginning of May is the most ideal time period for running events. Not so cold to freeze and not so warm to sweat. By now, I have two running events I usually enter and became a tradition in the last couple of years. Both thanks to the company. One is a quite unique one organized within our seed plant around and inside the factory in Szarvas. Love it, and this year I involved my sister as well.

The other one is a longer one. My solo bike tours around Lake Balaton within a day transformed a bit in the last 3 years since I'm with Corteva. The differences: not solo any longer but definitely team work, not monotonous but is about running and biking. The main point remained the same: going around the lake within 24 hours. It is called Ultrabalaton. Popular charity event, attracting huge crowd: 28,300 participants this year with the collected amount of HUF 23.5 million to support hospitals and foundations. For the first time in the history of the event, there was the possibility to double the achievement and run 2x rounds one after the other in solo (Project422), which is absolutely an unhuman achievement. Couple of people did it! The best one (Tibor Erős) run 422 kms in 46 hours. Crazy!!  211 kms (1 round) was completed by our 17-member-team in 22 hours. First I thought those people are abnormal to undertake such a huge distance in solo and they completely ruin and exhaust their body. But after I saw the video showing his last meters just before entering the finish, I changed my mind and thought what a fantastic strength of will, what an endurance! This man set an outway goal and achieved it. Exemplary! It gives me motivation when I want to die after my 5th km. The solo one-round track peak is attached to a woman (Andrea Mórocza) this year, who was 40-min faster than the second one: she run the 211 km in 18.30 hours! My main profile during Ultrabalaton is still biking. I attend my colleagues on their distances by bike, take pictures and support them if needed. Not to be so monotonous I usually run shorter distances more times. I really like the common goal, to see that everybody does his/her best, acting as a real team.

2024 recap

Last year was a super EXHAUSTING one, the YEAR OF CHANGES also at work and in private as well.

I changed position within company and left the beloved facility service and start working for marketing as event program specialist at the very beginning of the year. Second time to start a position with no help, as I had again nobody to handover the tasks from and also the boss question was open, again. Everything from zero, again. This is a really time consuming process which requires big efforts.

Additionally to this, I initiated some big changes at home as well during springtime. Painting the whole house was due for a long time and also made my old wish completed with covering the floor with laminated parquet for warmer feeling. The walls became much brighter (white or so), therefore the brown antique pickles furniture was replaced with white ones. Looks fresh and nicer. Huge project but happy with the result.

I sold my beloved Chrysler PT Cruiser which I was said went to Ukraine for serving voluntary work.

The boys were both also were facing some changes in the school and in the nursery. Dominik could come back to Budaörs in September at long last after 2 years spent in the 8th district of Budapest, while his school building was renovated. Nolen had to leave his nursery in October and move to another building, as the old one will be distroyed so that a new, modern building can be established instead. Some tears were dropped during the official good-bye ceremony, as it was the very same building where I started to get accustomed to the public spirit before ~40 years ago. So no more nostalgic commemoration standing in front of the building.

Loss of the year was Dominik's electric scooter in summer. The punchline of the story, that it was me who lost it, who was robbed. I was preparing the birthday cakes of the boys and wanted to jump into the supermarket to get some missing ingredients. I used Dominik's scooter, locked, spent 30 minutes in the shop, and by the time I came out, it disappeared. His Christmas present disappeared. It was reported to the police, but no result since then, the case was closed.

I bought my SUP which opens new water perspectives.

After 1.5 year of separated living, I headed for the official way to give forth the divorce by the court of justice. In September, everything was over smoothly, on paper. It will take time to rebuild my old/new life, relationships, feminity, and mainly my self-esteem. Second marriage started on the 17/FEB/2018 and ended officially on the 06/SEP/2024. It was a bit strange to go to Szigetköz together right after the trial for the habitual huge family camp and water tour weekend.

I go further on my way, and don't stop cooking, moving, exploring, discovering new places. Going without him on this way is much calmer and more peaceful. This is what we all need. I have time. No rush. I have everything I need in this life. In this new chapter I should concentrate on myself more.

As for the travels, new places were discovered, some could be ticked from the bucket list. Family vacation (probably the last one) in Steiermark during Easter, Greece in May as a 40th-birthday-gift for my sister, I've been to Barcelona on business in October and could enjoy a Sevilla-Barcelona football match, and the beginning of December was about Lapland, Finland to meet the real Santa Claus, to enjoy snow and the nothern lights.