Wonderful Girls

This posting is going to be fairly corny, so apologies in advance, and feel free to skip it...
It's been about two months since we embarked on our travels. I had high expectations of these travels, but I couldn't imagine how much fun it would be spending all day, every day, with our three daughters. As I've written before, beautiful nature and all, these months are mostly about spending quality time together as a family.
All three of them (though Hadas less than her sisters) seem to like the traveling life, and to enjoy camping and hiking. I’m delighted to see them play around in the dirt and mud without caring about being constantly clean. I love their desire to climb rocks, and their nonchalance about the cuts and bruises incurred in the process. I'm happy to see them wetting their hands and feet in almost every creek we bump into, freezing water not being a show stopper.

Maayan is literally blossoming, running around energetically and very happy most of the time. Spending all day with Mom & Dad has a fantastic influence on her. Our joke is that she thinks she's 3 years old (she's half that age), and in many respects she is indeed very precocious. At times it feels as if we can literally see her growing and developing day by day. She's amazingly cute and friendly, and it's fairly common for her to stand in front of a stranger in the street, and start conversing in fluent Gibberish, full of intent. Another prominent desire of hers is wild berries, which we have encountered frequently in the past weeks. She'll accept them all happily - blackberries, thimbleberries, huckleberries or salal berries - typically urging the other family members to pick them more quickly ;-)

Hadas needed some time to get used to moving so often (at the beginning she’d ask that we stay longer in every place, no matter where and in what accommodation...), but before too long she adapted. She's very happy with hiking and camping, particularly when we build a campfire in the evening. She loves nature, and is extremely curious about many things we come across. Her curiosity often yields a long stream of questions, which we like and encourage. Her liveliness is simply irresistible, and when she breaks into one of her common giggles, it's hard not to join!
One of the evident changes during this trip is the relationship between her and Maayan, namely Hadas becoming such a wonderful big sister. Sometimes when Maayan is in tears, Hadas is the only one capable of consoling her, and the love is reciprocal.

Noga is thriving, and the pains of leaving her friends in Pittsburgh have stopped affecting her mood a while back. Although she only recently turned 8, it feels at times like having a third adult, with her exceptional responsibility and willingness to help. She's frighteningly smart, and I keep being surprised by her level of perception and understanding. I find myself having more and more conversations with her, which could take place with a fellow adult. Another implication is that she fears not questioning the rationale behind our decisions (i.e. allowing or not allowing her certain things). Our usual take is that such second-guessing is welcome, up to a point, and it's not rare for us to reverse our decision as a result. And with all that, she’s still young enough to let us cuddle, hug and kiss her all the time. We cherish every such moment :-)

In general, my feeling is that I'm extremely lucky to have such a family. It's something I feel during routine times as well, but traveling emphasizes it even further!

Giora