The Adventsplätzchen I made yesterday are still around, we didn’t manage to eat them all. With them there is the smell and the taste from times past when things were easy. When nothing went wrong. When troubles were: not being able to watch “Flipper” on a Sunday afternoon and having instead having to go on this Sunday afternoon “Spaziergang” in a nearby park. When the highlight of the month was: being allowed to go to the special Sunday afternoon kids cinema show offering of Karl May’s Winnetou 1 (and the follow-ups). When adventures happened in my mind, when I was, under the table, covered by a long blanket and using a flashlight, reading about life on horse back, blood brothers, and men who kept their word.

Since then, and especially more recently, the sense of security has gone. Replaced by fear.

But tonight, and following a visit by one of Pádraig’s friends, things have changed a little. Just for tonight. For the time being. Calm is the dominating feeling. Don’t expect anything. Accept what is there.

Pádraig went to visit his grandaunt this afternoon. He had an easy day.