By now, the “Night of a Thousand Lanterns” on Children’s Day has become a tradition for us—and, surprise, surprise—we visit it in Vác (: The morning was filled with superhero ice cream and some playful scares at the wildlife park, rounding out an exhausting but sweetly meaningful day! Dated: June 12, 2017

There couldn’t have been a better way to end a successful workday than with a cozy picnic by the Nyírjes! After leaving the office, I tossed a pack of peanut puffs and a bottle of tea into my bag, picked up the little one from kindergarten, and we didn’t stop until we reached the lake. It reminded me a bit of the old days (ever since he turned five, almost everything reminds me of the old days), when he used to toddle holding my hand and wanted to go everywhere at once. Yesterday, on the other hand, we talked about kindergarten things, the differences between boys and girls, and what…

Every year, I get goosebumps at the thought that I’m celebrated on this day too, even though I’ve had plenty of time to get used to it. Five years ago, when Rú made me a mother, I had barely a week to adjust to the idea before this celebration arrived. My postpartum hormones were still rushing through my veins, I was learning how to breastfeed, living the sleepless life, and savoring these new feelings inside me—when I woke up to realize it was Mother’s Day, and now it was honoring me too! That day, I heard for the first time in my life people calling me “mom” all day long,…

Dear Ruben, Never in my life have I felt such completeness as I did five years ago when they placed you on my chest and we finally got to know each other. I remember your weight as you lay on me after you were born, I remember how comforting your warmth was, and I couldn’t get enough of the thought that you were mine—tangible and irrevocably mine. I looked at you and tried to take in every detail: the color of your eyes, your milk-blond hair, the wrinkles on your forehead, breathing in your baby scent, trying to guess why you moved the way you did. Every day (and every…

Dated: April 27, 2017

You may have read about this passion of mine on one of my diary pages last year, and that post turned out to be one of the most popular. I was especially glad about this because many people hold prejudices about combat sports and martial arts, often based on misconceptions, associating them with barbaric and violent systems. Yet, where else could we better practice respect, loyalty, perseverance, and mutual appreciation than in a place where we measure each other’s value based on our results and performance—where wealth, rank, position, or connections don’t matter, only the outcome of your work? This is a system that shapes body, mind, and character. It…

Dated: March 31, 2017

Dated: March 29, 2017

Last Sunday, we just couldn’t get enough of the beautiful weather and wanted to make the most of it before lunch! Since this week was a mix of work and university consultation days (which involved travel and meant Rú was away for two days), I really wanted us to have a little trip together. Despite the sunshine, the weather was still deceptively chilly, but for me, it was the most defining day of spring so far  Dated: March 24, 2017

Just last weekend, after Saturday’s Krav Maga private lesson, we couldn’t have avoided the neighbor’s playground even if we wanted to—we could almost hear its invitation! Sunshine, warm air, spring scents… mmm, we’d been waiting for this for so long! After the Krav Maga session, we had lunch at one of our favorites: chili-ketchup hotdogs (: Since the university is nearby, where I’m auditing a few classes as a guest student for our health tourism specialization, I took the little one for a quick visit to campus—and you’ll never guess what he found most fascinating after the playground: our library! Dated: March 12, 2017