Hi everyone,

I got the keys to my new apartment a month ago. Have you ever experienced moving? It is brutal. I had absolutely no furniture prior to the move, so I spent a long time searching and accumulating things. But I knew that I only had space for the things that I truly need and enjoy using. Now I got a beautiful, functional home that is graced with wood, glass and pops of my favourite shades of blue. Deep but vibrant.

I have got a one-of-a-kind dining table that could easily fit seven, if I had that many chairs. A discarded turquoise door, a thick glass top and a chunky steel frame for the door and legs - I love this upcycled piece of art. I bought it with the intention to do everything on it. Build puzzles, paint, write, eat and journal.

I have been chugging ahead non-stop the past three months, prepping for the move and then finally moving. That has taken a toll on my mental health. Maybe that's why I am here to write. I have also just published a new blog post about how it's like to be a single mom. Maybe you'd like to check it out.

I find that I haven't really got time on weekdays, for anything else besides the practical things a mom's gotta do. I can squeeze in a 45-minute session of meditation while Hannah's at kindergarten, if I am really disciplined and haven't got anywhere to be that day. But then it means I haven't got time to work out.

I have my daughter at home with me on the weekends, so I lack time and personal space. She uses my laptop to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, because I chose not to buy a tv. I can't write until she's gone to bed.

It is now 2.10am. This is a choice that I am definitely going to regret later in the morning, but I just got to write again. I want to say hello to all twenty-three of you and just to say that I am still here, still alive. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I am well, but I am alright.

I love the neighbourhood that we moved into. The houses in the neighbourhood are so unique, so many of them have their own charm. You can tell that their owners really put in their heart and soul into maintaining their property.

The entrance to the forest is right at my backyard, which is bloody lucky for me. I will get to watch the leaves wilt and fall over autumn, and transform into a whole new being in winter. I love forests.

I don't think that I will move for at least a decade, maybe two. The best beach on this island, my favourite beach (Kerteminde strande) is a 15-minute bus ride away. I recently discovered a secret pathway to Hannah's nature kindergarten, which goes through an underground tunnel that only pedestrians and cyclists can enter. Safe from all the whizzing cars.

My new chapter starts here. I have just emptied out my Google Cal, got rid of all the clutter and obligations. I wanna be a hermit for a bit. Decluttering my tasks and appointments reminds me of a poem that I wrote in 2017. Here it goes:

​

Ponder

Be honest with me
since I am a mess.
Have you been fanning
the desire to be happy
to feel more by doing less?
Or have we fallen prey to
the promises of more
thinking that it would be best?

Do you yearn for
maximum satisfaction?
Are the blank boxes
on your calendar
filled with possibilities
or obligations?
Perhaps a microscopic view
or the lack of sitting still?

Concentration a currency,
will its value fall?
Will I never see
how priceless peace can be,
or will I make another call...

​

That was it. I definitely wish that my calendar is filled with more possibilities than obligations. I love being spontaneous.

Could you do me a favour and reply to tell me how you are doing? I haven't really got that much social interaction after moving out from the crisis centre. I used to open my door and have a dozen of people to smile at and say good morning to. Now it's just Hannah and I. It was strange, to say the least.

I hope that I get to write to you guys more often now that I have my own home. I used to have the urge to write a blog post at the crisis centre, but then we would have games night or we would watch a film together. Now it is just me. But lunchboxes have to be made and dishes have to be washed, and dried, and put back to their shelves. So no promises.

If you reply, we could start an email thread back and forth. Until one of us gets tired of it and stops replying altogether. We don't have to reply instantly all the time, do we? It could be fun.

Anyway, hope that you are doing great.

Stay alive,
Vivian