Frühlingsmüdekeit

In Germany there seems to be a festival for things I've never considered celebrating before (the arrival of asparagus, for instance) and there is a word to describe concepts or phenomena I've never experienced before.

At a friend's house for dinner on Saturday night Thieu mentioned he tired a lot lately, and low in energy. I pointed out that Mads has been the same - she even went back to being a schlafen kind at kindergarten after not having a nap there for months.

'That's because of Frühlingsmüdekeit,' said our friend. 'Haven't you noticed everyone going on about it?' Well no, we hadn't. Apparently feeling exhausted and lethargic is a common complaint at this time of year. Your seratonin levels are low after a few months of low sunlight and, traditionally, a lack of fresh fruit and vegetables (although of course now everything is just imported. I bought strawberries just last week). Frühlingsmüdekeit basically means 'spring tiredness'.

'You need to exercise,' said our friend. And so, on Monday I went to Aldi, having been tipped off that they were selling rollerblades this week. Ah Aldi. Remember how the Faraway Tree is always growing different fruit everytime it's visited? Aldi reminds me of that. One week it's selling trumpets. The next it's unicycles. Then car radios. And you find yourself grabbing things you never knew existed but suddenly must, must have. You have to be prepared to brave the fearsome old ladies who ram you with their shopping trolleys if they think you've taken more than your fairshare of rainpants (another Aldi speciality) but it's worth it.



Mads was thrilled with the rollerblades. We headed down to the park after kindy yesterday so she could bask in the envy of other children. Simulataneoulsy I stumbled across another cure for Frühlingsmüde - laughing at your kid as she learns to rollerblade.

(Luckily Aldi was also selling knee, wrist and elbow pads).